Evening falls slowly over Oliena. The string lights in the garden come on, one by one. In the garden, people from different countries sit at their tables — and yet it feels nothing like a restaurant. On the table: a dark bottle of olive oil, produced here, labelled "Guthiddai". No waiter brings it. Gianluca sets it down himself.

An evening in the garden of Guthiddai — moon over Monte Corrasi, candlelight, oleander. — © Agriturismo Guthiddai

Not a hotel. A family home.

Agriturismo Guthiddai sits at the foot of the Supramonte — precisely where Barbagia stops being a geographical description and starts being a way of life. Since the 1950s, the Floris family has worked this land: vineyards, olive groves, vegetable gardens, livestock. At some point, they decided to open the doors. Not to become a hotel. But to show how life is lived here.

Gianluca and Antonella Floris run the farm, which has been in family hands for four generations. Their parents still help out. The grandmother can be found in the vegetable garden. You don't simply sleep here. For a few days, you become part of this family.

Recipes nobody ever wrote down

The menu changes every evening — simply because it depends on what the garden is giving right now, and the garden gives a great deal. Zucchini blossoms in early summer. Fava beans with milk and mint. Tomatoes still warm from the sun when they reach the plate.

Ravioli with Pecorino from their own production · The vineyards of Guthiddai — where the Cannonau "Mannoi" is born. — © Agriturismo Guthiddai

The culurgiones — Sardinia's signature stuffed pasta — are shaped by hand, filled with potato, mint and pecorino from the farm. The Cannonau — Sardinia's most celebrated red grape variety — grows in their own vineyard and is bottled as "Mannoi", named after the family's grandfather. The olive oil on the table carries the Guthiddai label. You taste how much heart has gone into these products — and something of the long history behind them.

A life that needs no explanation

Ogliastra and the Barbagia are among the five longevity regions in the world — the so-called Blue Zones. Sardinia has the highest concentration of centenarians per capita in Europe. Researchers point to the reasons: daily movement outdoors, strong family ties, a life attuned to the rhythms of nature.

At Guthiddai, you experience Sardinia as it has always lived — in harmony with nature. You feel it.

The others pull up to shore to climb the little church of San Leonardo. Nicole Raukamp stays in the kayak. Picks up the paddle once more and continues upstream — towards Su Gologone.

A river nobody has fully mapped

Lago del Cedrino lies about 20 km from Guthiddai — a reservoir from which the Cedrino river winds its way through the Supramonte all the way to the Su Gologone spring. That karst spring which has never been fully explored, and which Sardinian tradition holds to be inexhaustible.

Those who hire a kayak paddle one of Sardinia's most unspoilt waterways: past limestone walls, through the deep greens of the Supramonte, past places that are completely untouched.

View from the kayak — the waters of the Cedrino, the rocks of the Supramonte. — © Nicole Raukamp / pecora-nera.eu

Sun, water, silence

On clear days you paddle in full sun the entire time. Bring water — at least two litres. Sunscreen and a hat are not suggestions, they're essentials. Weather in the Supramonte can turn quickly.

From here, the Gola del Gorroppu is also reachable — one of Europe's deepest gorges, with walls up to 500 metres high. Accessible on foot only; no bus can reach it.

A whistle. Nothing more.

A short, sharp sound — and the sheep that had just wandered down a side street in Arzana turn around. No argument. No second whistle. As if they've known for generations what that sound means.

The shepherd shrugs. I didn't teach them that. They just know.

A practice that almost disappeared

Tràmuda is the Sardinian word for transhumance: the seasonal movement of livestock and people between summer and winter pastures. A practice recognised by UNESCO in 2019 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Ogliastra, it is still very much alive — not as a performance, but because the shepherds here still farm the way their ancestors did.

Jean-Luc, founder of Sardinia Fair Travel, has spent years building trust with these men. The shepherds normally make the Tràmuda among themselves. That they welcome outsiders speaks to trust and openness.

The moment you stop thinking

You walk behind the sheep — through the village, through the macchia, through forests where shadows slowly stretch across the path. Along the way, the shepherds show what they know: how to make cheese, shear sheep, read the weather in the clouds. The donkeys carry the luggage.

The flock in the dust cloud — Nicole's most magical moment. — © Nicole Raukamp / pecora-nera.eu

And somewhere along the way, something happens that you didn't expect. You stop thinking.

Lunch at the Sos Pinnettus — simple, real, good. — © Nicole Raukamp / pecora-nera.eu

At the destination, lunch awaits at Azienda Agricola Sa Ferrela — the shepherd's farm, where the sheep spend the winter. A solid house, stables alongside.

Note: Arzana is about 75 km from Oliena — roughly an hour's drive. The combination with Guthiddai works well: Guthiddai as your base, the Tràmuda as a full-day trip. A hire car is essential.