Sardegna Centrale

At a Glance

• Start / Finish: Cagliari, Chiesa di San Giacomo in Villanova / Porto Torres, Basilica di San Gavino (Golfo dell'Asinara)
• Length: 448.6 km
• Duration: 20 days, three to four weeks with rest days
• Elevation: ↗ 7,539 m / ↘ 7,536 m
• Highest point: 922 m in the Barbagia between Meana Sardo and Sorgono; lowest point 0 m at both harbours
• Stages: 20 (Camino Ninja division, calibrated to the operator's list; the operator divides it into 24 stages and gives 456 km)
• Network: main axis of the Cammino di Santu Jacu — "Sardegna Centrale" is our name; the operator says asse centrale
• Waymarking: yellow arrows, in the villages blue stickers with scallop shell
• St James churches: six — Cagliari (1346), Soleminis, Goni, Mandas (1585–1605), Nughedu Santa Vittoria (1634/1674), Ittireddu (13th c.)
• No hostel network: pilgrim lodgings (accoglienza) €10–15 only in some places, otherwise B&Bs, agriturismi, hotels; referenti di tappa; Credenziale and Testimonium
• Lifeline: narrow-gauge railway Monserrato – Isili and Trenino Verde as far as Sorgono; from Chilivani Trenitalia
• Sardinian connections: Sardegna da Orosei (from Chilivani), Sardegna Nord (from Ploaghe), Sardegna da Olbia (coastal branch Olbia – Orosei)
• Best time: April, May, September, October; winter mild, high summer inland not walkable

Overview

You start at a harbour and finish at a harbour, and in between you see no sea for 440 kilometres. That is the core of this route: it takes Sardinia not as a coast but as an island. From the Chiesa di San Giacomo in Cagliari's Villanova district, first mentioned in 1346 and one of the island's first Catalan-Gothic buildings, you walk through the olive country of the Parteolla to Dolianova, and then it empties out: Sant'Andrea Frius, Silius, the sixty menhirs of Goni, the ducal town of Mandas with its St James church and the station where D. H. Lawrence alighted in January 1921. From Isili with its white nuraghe the route climbs into the Sarcidano and the Barbagia, up to 922 metres — oaks, chestnuts, the wine of the Mandrolisai, villages with exactly one bar.

Then it drops to Lago Omodeo, where every July in Sedilo a hundred riders chase around a sanctuary, and into the north: Bolotana in the Marghine, abandoned Rebeccu, the rock-cut tombs of Bonorva, the Valle dei Nuraghi with the tower that was once 24 metres high, the dolmen of Mores, the St James church of Ittireddu with its pilgrims' loggia. In Chilivani and Ploaghe the other Sardinian strands join, and together the route runs past the striped basilica of Saccargia to Sassari and down to the beach of Platamona to Porto Torres, where the Basilica di San Gavino has stood since 1080 and Sardinia's only direct ferry to Barcelona departs. Three weeks, six St James churches, no second pilgrim — and a saint who here carries not the shell but the keys of lightning.

Other Names

In Sardinian, James is Santu Jacu, and that is the name of the network whose backbone this route is: the Cammino di Santu Jacu, in Italian also Cammino di Santiago in Sardegna. The operator calls this south–north stretch the asse centrale, central axis, and gives it as 456 kilometres in 24 stages — older association figures fluctuate between 430 and around 470 kilometres; we write the 448.6 of our track data. "Sardegna Centrale" is our name. Camino Ninja breaks the roughly 1,600 kilometres of the network down into four plannable routes — this one, Sardegna Nord through the Gallura, Sardegna da Orosei from the east coast and the coastal branch Sardegna da Olbia. The association does not know the four names; on the ground you say "Cammino di Santu Jacu" and everyone understands.

On the church façades you also meet the Italian form San Giacomo, and in Sedilo a saint who sounds like a relative and is none: Santu Antine — that is Emperor Constantine, to whom the S'Ardia is dedicated. And one more warning for your memory of names: the operator writes its stages as CSJ-01 to CSJ-24; our twenty are cut differently. If a referente speaks to you of "tappa 17", he means Bolotana – Rebeccu, not our stage 17.

Who It's For – and Who It's Not

Ideal if you are looking for a long-distance route on which you meet practically no other pilgrim for three weeks — the Santu Jacu has been Sardinia's official pilgrim route since 2012 and is still empty. If prehistory grips you: between Cagliari and Porto Torres lie the highest tholos chamber, the largest rock-cut tomb chamber, the heaviest dolmen and two of the largest menhir fields on the island, plus two necropolises that have been UNESCO World Heritage since 2025. If you want to get to know Sardinia without a beach: the route avoids the sea consistently until the last day. And if you sleep better with a railway line nearby — the first seven villages on the route lie on a real narrow-gauge railway, then the Trenino Verde takes over, from Chilivani the state railway.

To be honest, though, it is not for you if you expect a hostel network. The operator lists pilgrim lodgings for 10 to 15 euros, but by no means in every village, and hotels and restaurants in the small villages are often open only from Easter to the end of September. Gaps like these you plan away beforehand, not on the trail. Not for you either without Italian: inland you rarely get far with English, and the referenti di tappa who organise your beds generally do not speak it. Not for you in July and August — the Barbagia plateaus are then not hiking season but a heat problem. And the operator explicitly warns in its own stage guide of barbed wire and pasture gates: you will open and close more fences here than on all the Spanish Caminos put together.

Route & Landscape

The first third is south and hills. From Cagliari the route runs via Monserrato and Settimo San Pietro — a Roman road station on the old Karales – Turris link — into the Parteolla, gentle olive country around Dolianova with its former cathedral of San Pantaleo. Then it gets more sparsely populated: Sant'Andrea Frius, Silius, Goni with the menhir field of Pranu Muttedu, via Siurgus Donigala to Mandas. From Isili you climb into the Sarcidano and the Barbagia: between Laconi, Meana Sardo, Belvì and Sorgono lies the high point in the literal sense, 922 metres, in oak and chestnut forest and in the wine country of the Mandrolisai. Via Nughedu Santa Vittoria the route drops to Lago Omodeo, the island's largest reservoir, and to Sedilo.

The last third is north and stone. Via Bolotana in the Marghine, abandoned Rebeccu and Bonorva with the necropolis of Sant'Andrea Priu you come into the Meilogu and the Valle dei Nuraghi near Torralba, then via Borutta, Bonnanaro and Mores to Ittireddu and the rail hub of Chilivani. From here you walk the same waypoints as the other Sardinian strands: Ploaghe, Codrongianos with Saccargia, Florinas, Cargeghe, Ossi, Sassari, Sorso, the beach of Platamona, Porto Torres. Surface: field and shepherds' paths, forest roads, gravel tracks, tarmac through the villages and on connecting stretches. The 7,539 metres of ascent are spread over many small ramps rather than a few passes — 17 metres of climb per kilometre on average, no alpine route, but nowhere flat either.

Stages, Terrain & Difficulty

The operator today divides the axis into 24 stages and reckons around a month for the whole distance; its 2017 stage guide lists 26 sections with kilometres. We divide the 448.6 kilometres into 20 stages — the framework is the operator's list, transferred onto the waypoints of our track data and calibrated exactly to their length; that is why individual values deviate by a few hundred metres from the association's figures. One difference is more fundamental: between Bolotana and Ittireddu our route runs via Rebeccu, Bonorva, Torralba and Mores through the Meilogu — the way the association itself now leads the stage Bolotana – Rebeccu — while its 2017 guide still went via Foresta Burgos. Noragugume and Ardara from the old list are not on our route.

1. Cagliari – Monserrato – Settimo San Pietro – Soleminis – Dolianova (35.2 km) — longest stage, but flat and studded with stations; St James churches in Cagliari and Soleminis, cathedral of San Pantaleo.
2. Dolianova – Sant'Andrea Frius (21.9 km) — olive hills of the Parteolla, first solitude.
3. Sant'Andrea Frius – Silius (17.1 km) — hill country of the Trexenta.
4. Silius – Goni (16.2 km) — menhir field Pranu Muttedu, St James church.
5. Goni – Siurgus Donigala – Mandas (22.4 km) — ducal town, San Giacomo of 1585–1605, station of the Trenino Verde.
6. Mandas – Isili (15.2 km) — Nuraghe Is Paras, the white giant of the Sarcidano.
7. Isili – Nurallao – Su Lau – Laconi (20.0 km) — Parco Aymerich, menhir museum, birthplace of Saint Ignazio.
8. Laconi – Meana Sardo (19.0 km) — entry into the Barbagia.
9. Meana Sardo – Belvì (17.1 km) — the mountain passage, highest point 922 m; chestnuts, forest, vastness.
10. Belvì – Sorgono (20.0 km) — Mandrolisai wine, Santuario di San Mauro, menhirs of Biru 'e Concas.
11. Sorgono – Nughedu Santa Vittoria (25.7 km) — St James church of 1634/1674 with pilgrim lodging.
12. Nughedu Santa Vittoria – Sedilo (20.0 km) — Lago Omodeo, Santuario di San Costantino, horse race S'Ardia.
13. Sedilo – Ziu Zolo – Bolotana (26.6 km) — Marghine, nuraghi, carpet weavers.
14. Bolotana – Rebeccu – Bonorva (28.5 km) — around 1,000 metres of ascent through the forests of the Marghine, ghost village Rebeccu; the hardest stage.
15. Bonorva – Giave – Torralba (19.0 km) — Sant'Andrea Priu, Valle dei Nuraghi, Santu Antine.
16. Torralba – Borutta – Bonnanaro – Mores (18.1 km) — San Pietro di Sorres, Dolmen Sa Coveccada.
17. Mores – Ittireddu – Chilivani (25.7 km) — 13th-century St James church with pilgrims' loggia; rail hub, confluence with Sardegna da Orosei.
18. Chilivani – Ploaghe – Codrongianos (28.5 km) — junction with Sardegna Nord, basilica of Saccargia.
19. Codrongianos – Florinas – Cargeghe – Ossi – Sassari (21.9 km) — Logudoro hills, the island's second city.
20. Sassari – Sorso – Platamona – Porto Torres (30.5 km) — Romangia vineyards, at last the sea, Basilica di San Gavino.

Difficulty: moderate, as the operator rates it, and that is about right — nothing is alpine, but the Barbagia stages 8 to 11 and the 1,000 metres of ascent from Bolotana to Bonorva are demanding. The opening stage is long at 35 kilometres, but flat and can be shortened by train at any time; the final stage at 30 kilometres is the price for the sea. The yellow arrows are reliable but not gapless; in the villages the blue stickers help; the operator's GPX tracks are essential, on the lonely sections more than any arrow. The association itself names two practical problems: barbed wire and pasture gates — leave every gate as you found it, shepherds live here — and few water points; two litres in the rucksack are no excess baggage here. Ticks from May, heat from June.

Santu Jacu Carries the Keys of Lightning

The saint this route belongs to is, in Sardinia, not primarily the pilgrim with the shell. He is the protector against thunderstorms. In the Campidano, when weather is brewing, people pray: "Santa Bràbara e Santu Jacu, bosu portais is crais de su lampu, bosu portais is crais de su celu, no tocheis a fillu allenu, né in domu né in sartu" — Santa Barbara and Santu Jacu, you carry the keys of lightning, you carry the keys of heaven, touch no one else's child, neither in the house nor in the field. The attribution has a biblical reason: Jesus called James and his brother John Boanerges, sons of thunder. Santa Barbara stands beside him because her father was struck dead by lightning. Anyone who walks the plateaus of the Barbagia, where the weather builds up fast, understands why the Sardinians entrusted the keys to this apostle of all people.

Sardinia's connection to Compostela is old and thin at the same time. An Armenian breviary of 1054 writes the island into the legend of the apostle's journey — James is said to have set out from the port of Jaffa, come to the island of Sardinia and from there to Spain; that is tradition, not proof, but the oldest text that places the island on the Way of St James. The bishop of Cagliari is said to have made the pilgrimage to Santiago by sea every two years. And in the passenger lists of Barcelona, according to the operator, exactly six Sardinian pilgrims are recorded between 1378 and 1385 who wanted to go to Compostela. Six in seven years — that is no mass movement, that is a thread. Research has found no pilgrim with a name and a story for this route, and we invent none; the number is stronger.

What there is, on the other hand, is stone. Six St James churches lie on the axis, and they follow the two waves in which the cult came to the island: Cagliari (documented in 1346, bell tower of 1442 or 1447) and Ittireddu (first half of the 13th century, with a Baroque loggia built specifically to shelter pilgrims during the festivities) belong to the Pisan period; Mandas (begun 1585, consecrated 1605, arms of the Carroz over the portal) and Nughedu Santa Vittoria (completed 1634, façade 1674) are Catalan-Gothic; plus Soleminis and Goni, whose building dates we do not give you because we cannot document them. In Mandas the saint is celebrated at the end of July together with the cheese festival, in Ittireddu and Nughedu on 25 July with processions. The association, conceived as an idea in winter 2009, founded in December 2010 and recognised by the region in December 2012 as Sardinia's first pilgrim route, has only strung these churches on a thread again — the thread was there.

Highlights Along the Way

• Chiesa di San Giacomo, Cagliari — first documented in 1346, bell tower of 1442 or 1447, around 30 metres, one of Sardinia's first Catalan-Gothic buildings; here you get your first stamp.
• Nostra Signora di Bonaria, Cagliari — pilgrimage church of the Mercedarians since 1335; according to legend a chest thrown overboard with a statue of the Madonna washed ashore here on 25 March 1370. Patroness of Sardinia since 1907, and Buenos Aires is named after this hill.
• San Pantaleo, Dolianova — cathedral of the diocese of Dòlia until 1503, consecrated 1289, baptismal font from the 5th/6th century.
• Pranu Muttedu, Goni — around 60 menhirs and rock-cut tombs of the Ozieri culture on 20 hectares; popularly known as "the Sardinian Stonehenge".
• San Giacomo, Mandas — Catalan-Gothic, begun 1585, consecrated 1605; at the station D. H. Lawrence alighted in January 1921, and a chapter of his book "Sea and Sardinia" is simply called "Mandas".
• Nuraghe Is Paras, Isili — Sardinia's highest tholos chamber, 37 courses of white marly limestone; Giovanni Lilliu called it the most harmonious on the island.
• Laconi — birthplace of Saint Ignazio da Laconi (1701–1781, canonised 1951), the 22-hectare Parco Aymerich with castle ruin and waterfall, the menhir museum in the Palazzo Aymerich.
• Sorgono — the Mandrolisai, a wine zone that exists only here; the Gothic-Aragonese Santuario di San Mauro with its 4.5-metre rose window; around 150 menhirs of Biru 'e Concas.
• S'Ardia, Sedilo — on 6 July at sunset and on 7 July at dawn up to a hundred riders chase three standard-bearers around the Santuario di San Costantino above Lago Omodeo; commemorated is Constantine's victory at the Milvian Bridge in 312.
• Rebeccu — abandoned village above the plain of Santa Lucia, sacked by a Catalan expedition in 1353; the legend of Princess Donoria laid the curse of the thirty houses on it.
• Sant'Andrea Priu, Bonorva — twenty rock-cut tombs; the Tomba del Capo, at 250 square metres and 18 rooms, is the largest on the island and became a rock church with frescoes in Byzantine times. UNESCO World Heritage since 2025.
• Nuraghe Santu Antine, Torralba — today 17.5 metres, originally an estimated 24; in Sardinian "Sa Domu de su Re", the house of the king. All around, the Valle dei Nuraghi with thirty nuraghi on 37 square kilometres.
• San Pietro di Sorres, Borutta — Pisan Romanesque, begun 1171–1178, black and white in sandstone and basalt; cathedral until 1503, Benedictines again since 1950, an abbey since 1974.
• Dolmen Sa Coveccada, Mores — Sardinia's largest megalithic tomb, capstone around 27 tonnes, 3500–2900 BC.
• San Giacomo, Ittireddu — 13th century, two-tone stone, Baroque pilgrims' loggia; feast on 25 July with mounted procession.
• Santissima Trinità di Saccargia, Codrongianos — completed 1116 under Judex Constantino I, striped black and white, the island's best-known Romanesque building.
• Sassari — cathedral of San Nicola and on 14 August the Discesa dei Candelieri: thirteen guilds carry giant candlesticks through the old town, UNESCO cultural heritage since 2013.
• Basilica di San Gavino, Porto Torres — consecrated 1080, two apses and no façade, 22 columns, crypt with Roman sarcophagi; bishop's seat from 489 to 1441.

How Pilgrims Reach This Route

Most come by air: Cagliari-Elmas is seven minutes by train from the main station, and from there you walk in a quarter of an hour to the Chiesa di San Giacomo in Villanova, where the route begins. Anyone arriving by ship lands in Cagliari from Civitavecchia, Naples or Palermo — or in Porto Torres and Olbia in the north and walks the axis from north to south; the operator explicitly describes it in both directions and in sections of one week or fifteen days.

From the south the route arrives by sea: anyone who has walked the Camino Sicilia from Pozzallo to Palermo takes the Grimaldi Lines ferry from the port of Palermo to Cagliari – around 12 hours, usually once a week (as of September 2026, check sailing days beforehand) – and stands the next morning at the Chiesa di San Giacomo in Villanova, where this axis begins. Malta, Sicily, Sardinia: this is where the Camino Maltés strings its island sections together.

Within the Sardinian network this axis is the backbone towards which the other routes run. Whoever starts from Olbia can walk the coastal branch Sardegna da Olbia to Orosei, change there to Sardegna da Orosei and meets this axis via Nuoro and Ozieri in Chilivani; whoever chooses the Gallura route Sardegna Nord joins in Ploaghe. From there it is another three stages to Porto Torres, which all three strands walk together. And whoever wants only the Barbagia gets off the narrow-gauge railway at Mandas or Isili and onto the route.

Continuing On?

The route does not end in Santiago but on a quayside — and that is deliberate. Porto Torres is the only Sardinian harbour with a connection to Spain: from here the direct ferry sails to Barcelona, and there the Camino Catalán awaits, via Montserrat and Lleida to the Ebro and on westwards. The operator understands its axis in exactly this way, as the Sardinian section of a longer route — here in the Middle Ages the ships set sail for Iberia, and here they still do.

In practice that means: from the Stazione Marittima in Porto Torres, Grimaldi Lines sails all year to Barcelona, around 12 hours across the Mediterranean, once to several times a week depending on the season (as of September 2026, check sailing days beforehand). In Barcelona the Camino de Barcelona via Montserrat and the Camino Catalán via Lleida take over – and the Sardinian finish becomes the next stage of the Camino Maltés to Santiago.

Whoever stays on the island has three connections, all in the opposite direction via the shared finale: Sardegna Nord from Ploaghe through the Anglona and Gallura to Olbia, 268.3 kilometres; Sardegna da Orosei from Chilivani via Ozieri, Nuoro and Dorgali to the east coast, 270.7 kilometres; and from Orosei the coastal branch Sardegna da Olbia back to Olbia, 135.4 kilometres. All four together make a good 1,100 kilometres of Sardinian Cammino — the association's whole network covers around 1,600 kilometres in about 60 stages across more than a hundred municipalities.

Preparation & Practicalities

The season is the calendar minus summer: April and May, September and October are the strongest months, winter is mild and workable, high summer inland is no time for walking. Two dates are worth planning for and demand it: the S'Ardia in Sedilo on 6 and 7 July and the Discesa dei Candelieri in Sassari on 14 August — both magnificent, both with beds booked out for miles around. There is no hostel network. The operator keeps an accommodation list with pilgrim lodgings (accoglienza) for €10–15 per night, plus B&Bs, agriturismi and hotels in the larger places; in the villages hotels and restaurants are often open only from Easter to the end of September, and several stage destinations simply have no pilgrim lodging. For that there are the referenti di tappa, local stage contacts whom you call the day before; gaps like these you plan away beforehand, not on the trail. The easiest way to plan your stages and lodgings is directly in the Camino Ninja app.

The Credenziale is issued by the Associazione Amici del Cammino di Santu Jacu — order it in good time before departure; it opens the pilgrim lodgings and is the condition for the Testimonium at the end; there is no Compostela here. The waymarking is yellow arrows, in the villages blue stickers with a shell; download the operator's GPX tracks before you start. Water and fences: few water points on the lonely sections, barbed wire and pasture gates everywhere — two litres of capacity, close the gates. Language: Italian, plus Sardinian in many varieties; English in Cagliari and Sassari, rarely inland — a few scraps of Italian are not politeness here but equipment. Lifeline: the narrow-gauge railway Monserrato – Isili stops at the first seven villages on the route, the Trenino Verde runs on Sundays Mandas – Laconi and Belvì – Sorgono, from Chilivani Trenitalia takes over; between Sorgono and Chilivani you depend on ARST buses. Gear: soles for gravel and tarmac, sun protection, tick protection, cash for the villages.

What the Route Costs

To be honest, the most expensive item on this route is not the bed but the gap — where there is no pilgrim lodging you pay B&B prices, and such gaps are numerous on the axis. All amounts are guide values (as of September 2026), except two documented ones: the pilgrim lodging according to the operator €10–15, the Trenino Verde Mandas – Laconi €12 one way, €16 return. A B&B with breakfast is around €35–55 per person, an agriturismo with half board €55–80, a hotel double room in Cagliari or Sassari €70–120. A panino at a bar costs €6–10, a menu in a trattoria €18–30, self-catering €10–15 a day; the Credenziale is an association contribution of a few euros.

A realistic daily budget: frugal with pilgrim lodging and self-catering €25–35 — but only where one exists — mid-range with a B&B and one hot meal €60–85. For 20 stages that comes to roughly €500–700 frugal and €1,200–1,700 mid-range, excluding travel and gear; the return journey Porto Torres – Cagliari by train costs €20–25. Churches cost nothing, the archaeological sites — Pranu Muttedu, Is Paras, Sant'Andrea Priu, Santu Antine — a few euros each, the menhir museum in Laconi likewise.

Getting There

To the start (Cagliari): Cagliari-Elmas airport has direct connections from all over Italy and seasonally from many European cities; a train takes you in around seven minutes to the main station, from where it is about 15 minutes on foot to the Chiesa di San Giacomo in Villanova. By ship you reach Cagliari from Civitavecchia, Naples and Palermo.

En route: The south is comfortable by rail. The ARST narrow-gauge railway Monserrato – Isili, opened on 15 February 1888 as Sardinia's first narrow-gauge line, stops at Monserrato, Settimo San Pietro, Dolianova, Mandas and Isili; from Mandas the Trenino Verde runs on Sundays to Laconi and Meana as well as Belvì – Sorgono (Mandas – Laconi 37 km, 2:45 h, €12, as of September 2026). Between Sorgono and Chilivani there is no railway; ARST buses run there; from Chilivani Trenitalia connects to Sassari, Porto Torres, Olbia and Cagliari. From the finish (Porto Torres): Trenitalia takes you via Sassari and Chilivani back to Cagliari, changing at Ozieri-Chilivani or Macomer, around €20–25. The nearest airport is Alghero-Fertilia, around 35 kilometres; Olbia is a good two hours away by train. Ferries run from Porto Torres to Genoa (all year, around 10 h), Civitavecchia (7:45 h), seasonally Savona — and as Sardinia's only direct connection to Barcelona. The Chilivani – Porto Torres line was closed for upgrading in the first half of 2026; check the current status before travelling.

• Rail Sardinia: trenitalia.com — Cagliari, Chilivani, Sassari, Porto Torres
• Narrow-gauge railway and bus: arst.sardegna.it — Monserrato – Isili, buses Barbagia and Marghine
• Trenino Verde: treninoverde.com — Mandas – Laconi, Belvì – Sorgono
• Credenziale, GPX, referenti: camminosantujacu.it — Associazione Amici del Cammino di Santu Jacu
• Ferry: grimaldi-lines.com — Porto Torres – Barcelona, Porto Torres – Civitavecchia