Typical of the Area:
This still largely undiscovered tourist region is known for its captivating, wild nature and particularly for its great seafood, mullets and fish eggs (Bottarga).

At the " Museo del Coltello " are held masterpieces of the Sardinian craft of knife making with a 295-kilo sword (registered in the Guinness book of records).

In Guspini vertical columns stand in a basalt quarry (“basalti colonnari”). Today they are under the monuments and historic buildings conservation.

Once the small mining industry place of "Montevecchio" was the biggest mine of lead and zinc of Europe. Today after previous arrangement you can have a guided tour of the mineral museum and part of the mine.

Close to Ingurtosu you find perhaps the most famous and certainly most beautiful dunes of Europe. This dune region is astonishing intact and arrives far inland. Here to this day tortoises and numerous migratory birds lay their eggs.

The area of Marceddì belongs with its lagoon to the most important wetland of the island. In the " Stagno di Marceddì " and the " Stagno di San Giovanni" many rare bird species find their oasis. For instance the purple swamphen, the great crested grebe, the red heron, the mallard, pond ducks, cormorants as well as flamingos.

A marshland that was drained in the 20s and today belongs to the most fertile and most productive agriculture areas in Sardinia. The town of Arborea was found in 1928 during the Mussolini era. This is still evident to this day in the architecture (Art Nouveau of the 20s, neo-Gothic) in the strictly symmetrical ordered streets and in the irrigation system.

This city was created in the year 1070 west of Sardinia, a rich fishing area. In the historical old part of town you can visit the Marian Cathedral (1128) and its vault, as well as the tower of Mariano II “Torre di Mariano II” (1291) and the gothical church of Santa Chiara from the 14th century. In the “Palazzo Parpaglia” are kept the archaeological pieces of finds from Tharros and from medieval Oristano.

Antique harbour, built in 730 b.C. as a stop for merchant ships from the Mediterranean area. From 238 b.C. Tharros became a rich Roman city. Baths, houses and cult places are found in the south side, while in the north part you can find a Tophet (sacrifice place) and the Nuraghe village of Murru Mannu.

Cork oak forests and marshes (Paolo Maiori) gives an appearance almost as savanna to this flat high plateau. It lies 576 ms above sea level and starts in the small village of Tuili.
This about 45 square kilometers big protected area is the only place on which still live the small, half-wild horses threatened for extinction (the so-called Giara horses).

On this high plateau, with wonderful panoramic views of the Marmilla, there is an impressive grave of the giants "Sa Domu e'S'Orku". It belongs with its huge stone block to the biggest in Sardinia. In summer you are able to reach this plateau also with a chair lift.

Activities in the Area: Watersports (Pedalo and Canoe), Horse Riding, Tennis.

the Sartiglia takes place on the Sunday of Carnival and Tuesday after.
It's a spectacular rider tournament, that goes back to the 16th Century. The different guilds represents the groups of riders and must spear a silver star hanging over the distance while gallopping. The number of these stars is classified as sign of coming harvests. After the tournament, riding acrobats show their amazing skills with horses.
This event is particularly important and very much appreciated by the local population and it's becoming well-known to the tourist that come numerously every year.

On the first Sunday of September of each year a very worth seeing procession takes place in Cabras:
Hundreds of young men, only dressed with a white frock, take the statue of the saint in Cabras and carry it barefoot 6 kms to the remot church of San Salvatore. The following day they carry the statue back to the parish church of Cabras running.
The devotion and solemnity that come with the event last nine days and it's not to be missed.