Cala Goloritzé via Punta Salinas (466m)

A few years ago I visited Cala Goloritzé with the intention of climbing the very exciting looking Guglia di Goloritzé or Aguglia as it is commonly known. One look at the narrow obelisk, and my climbing partner got cold feet… that was 15 years ago. So, instead of climbing I spent a few undisturbed hours swimming in the crystal clear blue waters. A private little enclave, with the occasional sailboat or dinghy sailing past. The occupants waving as we sunned our bodies on the idyllic little beach. Needless to say I fell in love with this little beach.

It was here that I decided Barbara and I would have our first hike.

I noticed as we were driving towards the parking area, that a few things had changed in the intervening years. 1) A lot of the now tarred road was dirt before; 2) At the car park there was a rifugio offering food and drink; 3) You had to pay an entrance fee (used to maintain the path, and probably pay for the warden that is on duty at the beach). And there were dozens of cars parked, with the occupants presumably at or on their way to the beach. Okay, so definitely not a day to get an all-over tan then, I thought, somewhat disappointed that there will be loads of other people around…

As we set off Barbara asked if we should walk via Punta Salinas – at this stage not part of our plans. I readily agreed and we set off. At an unmarked junction we branched off. We think it’s towards Punta Salinas. (The only clue being a sign which pointed to Cala Goloritzé, so we sort of guessed that we should branch off at this point.) A young Austrian/German couple with their one-year-old boy riding on dad’s back passes us at this point. Soon we start gaining height. We catch up with the couple when we’re at the top of the climb. We end up walking together and chatting until we get to Punta Salinas. The spectacular view of Cala Goloritzé, the Aguglia, and the bluest sea is every photographer’s dream!

While the couple with the one-year-old were having lunch, Barbara and I decided to move on. We followed one of the many tracks which start at Punta Salinas, but soon found ourselves on the edge of a very steep drop. It may have been just possible to down climb it, but the steepness and loose blocks made me decide not to attempt it. We headed back to where our friends were having lunch. Took a look in their guide book, which did not really tell us which way to pick up the downward trail, except it was somewhere along the trail we had followed to Punta Salinas. We decided to follow the path back the way we had come and keep our eyes open for junctions. As we rounded the first corner, a party was coming from the other direction heading for the summit. I looked at them. Then I looked again, because there amongst the group was our friend and guide on our Dolomite climbs a few months ago! Alessandro Fiori, alive and well and trekking the very tough Selvaggio Blu! Small world! We hugged and chatted for a few minutes, then went on our separate ways agreeing to meet on the beach later on.

On our way we met with two female hikers on their way to Punta Salinas. A quick check with them, and a look on their mapping app convinced us that we had found the trail that will take us down to Cala Goloritzé. It also convinced them not to make the mistake we made and tried to follow the trail off the front of Punta Salinas. A steep downward path, followed by Selvaggio Blu hikers, through a forested area which eventually joined the main path, took us all the way down to the beach. First thing we did was to change into our swimsuits and then it was straight into the crystal clear blue water of Cala Goloritzé!

The path to Cala Goloritzé via Punta Salinas

To get to Cala Goloritzé follow the road signs for “Golgo” and Cooperativa Goloritzé from Baunei. When you spot the sign that points towards Cala Goloritzé (on right), take the the dirt road that leads to the parking area. The path that we followed is shown on the map below (you can download our GPX file below).

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  1. Pingback: Cala Gonone to Cala Goloritzé [mountain paths]

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