Arzachena, archaeological sites and Bear Rock

In the morning we set off for Arzachena, which is not far from Palau.

First, we went to the tourist information office, where we were very knowledgeable, detailed and friendly informed about the sights of the town and the surrounding area.

From there, we set off with several maps for an exploration tour of the town and first went to the stone mushroom 'Il Fungo'.

The rock is located in a small park on a hill from which you can overlook the city.

We then walked through the city center towards Santa Lucia, a church where the steps are redesigned every year.

Then we left the city and made our way to the archaeological sites from the Bronze Age, of which there are seven in the vicinity of Arzachena.

We immediately bought a combination ticket for all seven sites and started with the 'Nuraghe Albucciu'.

The exact function of the originally high towers is disputed. They were probably both residential and defensive facilities.

On the other side of the road, a path led to an ancient temple. When we bought the tickets and at the tourist information, we were already advised to wear sturdy shoes for the visit as the path is uneven and you have to climb a bit.

At first, we walked along an even sandy path. When we passed a few houses, a female dog joined us.

At first, we thought she would only leave her property for a moment and then turn back, but then she accompanied us the entire way and made sure not to lose us.

The climb eventually became steeper, but the dog Lilith climbed over all the rocks with us and so the three of us finally reached the small temple.

There wasn't much left to see, but the view was all the more beautiful.

We went a little further up and here too the dog was faster at climbing than us and was already waiting for us at the highest point.

On the way back, we met some other hikers who greeted Lilith happily. But she always joined us again.

When we passed the driveway where she had originally run towards us, we thought she would now return home. Instead, she continued to follow us.

She also accompanied us to the third archaeological site nearby, the giant's tomb 'Tomba di giganti Moru'.

On the way back to the parking lot, Lilith almost ran into a car. The driver was able to brake just in time and looked at us very angrily because we didn't have the dog on a leash... But back at the parking lot, the saleswomen from the ticket office took care of her and called the number on her collar so that she could be picked up by her owners.

We continued to the next archaeological site and visited the 'Nuraghe La Prisgiona'.

This tower still had two side towers and a whole village inside a defensive wall.

The structures date back to the 13th-8th century BC.

A hiking trail then led to the next archaeological site: the 'Tomba di giganti Coddu Vecchju'.

Since the path had quite a few slopes and seemed longer than the announced one kilometer, we took the shorter path back along the road (which we realized on site also led directly to the site).

After a short break in the parking lot, we drove to the last two archaeological sites that we wanted to visit.

First, we went to another large tomb.

The 'Tomba di giganti Li Lolghi' consists of several monoliths on the front, the highest of which is 3.75 meters high.

We wondered how these stones were brought here and set up...

Finally, we went to the necropolis 'Li Muri', where several graves were housed in touching stone circles.

On the way, we saw a café with a beautiful view, which we headed for to have some coffee and cake.

As it was still not very late in the afternoon, we continued to the Bear Rock in Palau to at least partially make up for our canceled hike on the rainy day.

The ascent to the rock was well developed. It was quite windy at the top, so you were not allowed to walk directly under the bears.

The view over the bay and the surrounding mountains was still beautiful.

When we wanted to continue our hike to the lighthouse, we found out that the paths that were supposed to start directly from the parking lot of the Bear Rock were either closed or completely overgrown.

When our search for a new starting point only found a no-entry sign and it started to rain, we decided to drive back to the hotel.