The descent of the canyon Bacu Padente, instead of the riverbed, takes place on a thin and panoramic ridge overlooking the canyon and the sea. It is a series of six abseils as high as 30 metres, and a passage into a small cave that leads to the opposite side of the ridge. This may sound very unusual for a canyoning tour and, in effect, Bacu Padente can hardly fit the canyoning category as it has no water either. Call it just abseiling, and we are on track.

Suspended on a narrow ledge, we will walk and abseil the crests of Bacu Padente from 200 metres above sea level down to the water. The view from the 6 abseils on Bacu Padente embraces the whole Gulf of Orosei with peaks over the little cove Piscine di Venere with its crystal-clear water.

And if the canyoning and caving adventure wasn’t enough, at the end of the abseils it is also possible to do an acrobatic detour to a guided tour on the Grotta del Fico. This is a large cave open to tourists during the summer only.

Approach and return

Our meeting is at the Rifugio on the Golgo plateau above the town of Baunei. From there we will jump on our off-road vehicles and drive 30 minutes on a dirt track to reach the access to the canyon. It takes only a 20 minutes walk to find the first anchoring point, and from there it is abseiling after abseil.

The return walk follows the path of the famous trek Selvaggio Blu, and in about 1 hour we will be back at the starting point.

How is it possible to visit the Grotta del Fico?

The Grotta del Fico is managed by a local company and opens during the summer season. The ticket is €10 and must be paid at the entrance.

Reaching the Grotta del Fico: if the group decides to visit the cave, we can switch our last abseil landing directly over the entrance. The return from the cave requires an acrobatic traverse on the rocks, at one metre above the sea. At the end of the traverse, we will enter a small cave that takes us to where we would have landed on the original itinerary.

Return by boat

At the end of our itinerary, whether we visit the Grotta del Fico or not, it is always possible to organize a return by boat. This is a great way to avoid the long walk back and enjoy a tour of the coast. The boat trip takes about 1 hour and is an amazing way to view the mountains we descended from a different perspective.

If you are booking the return by boat, our meeting point will be at the port of Santa Maria Navarrese, where an off-road vehicle will drive us to the starting point of Bacu Padente. The drive takes about 1 hour in total.

To book a return by boat you will have to select the correct return option when paying for the tour. The return has a fixed price and includes both the boat transfer and off-road transfer from Santa Maria Navarrese.