There’s plenty of tourist information in Sardinia that tells you the Gola su Gorropu is the deepest gorge in Europe. It’s not (see below). But that doesn’t really matter when you’re standing at the bottom of an almighty vertical wall of rock and there’s a climber dangling from a precarious handhold high above your head.
Did I say vertical? At this point, the wall – all 1,300ft of it – leans oppressively inwards. Just a few yards away, the opposite cliff soars skywards and in between is a traffic jam of car-sized boulders, as white and smooth as pebbles.
Looking up, the cobalt sky is a narrow ribbon between the rims.
Folklore says that you can see stars during the daytime. Unlikely, but not as fanciful as the legend that tells of evil creatures creeping out of the gorge at night to steal away men and animals.
I love these tales; they sit nicely with my own vivid impressions of Sardinia’s natural poster boy. Viewed from both the other side of the valley and down in the gorge’s dungeons, Gorropu looks like it was cut with a broken hacksaw blade. It splits apart the formidable Supramonte limestone massif that dominates the east of this great oblong of an island.
Actually, it was the Flumineddu river that did the damage. Fortunately for hikers such as myself, the river runs underground through the ravine unless there has been heavy rainfall, after which a mass of water rages through the slot before it soaks away.
That’s what the lady at the gorge’s mouth explained to me when she took my €5 (£4.30) entrance fee and gave me a detailed briefing on what lay ahead. But the story starts before here, because getting to Gorropu is very much part of the adventure.
A half-hour drive from the sweet little seaside resort of Cala Gonone, through the small farms of the lower Flumineddu valley, brought me to the rough car park. From here it was boots on, stick in hand and a two-hour yomp to reach Gorropu, which remains deliciously hidden until the last steps.
A Jeep service from a different access point cuts the trek down to 40 minutes, but I’d recommend the whole walk. On the right is the gigantic grey wall of the Supramonte – up there somewhere, in a concealed cave, is one of the most intriguing of Sardinia’s nuraghic settlements, the 2,500-year-old Tiscali. On the left is the valley, smothered with dense Mediterranean macchia – a jumble of mastic trees, oleander and myrtle.
The route roughly parallels the river, which is littered with boulders and green pools. Sometimes the path rises to give glimpses of the ever-narrowing valley ahead, then dips down to the water’s edge.
Just a few minutes after I spied the top of the gorge through the trees, I was scrambling down to the entrance. It’s not an easy excursion inside; painted spots mark the best way through the maze of rocks but I still found myself using hands as much as feet.
For all its spectacle, Gorropu is a baby in terms of length – barely three miles – and unless you have a guide and rope skills, only about a third can be penetrated. I scrambled as far as possible, mindful of spraining an ankle with a four-mile walk back to come, looking up to search for the wild goats and golden eagles that call this wilderness their home and feeling the silence close in on me.
How to do it
EasyJet flies to Olbia from London Gatwick. Stay at Su Gologone in Sardinia’s pristine Barbagia mountains, close to both the gorge and the beaches of Cala Gonone. It’s a colour-drenched oasis of authenticity, art and beauty, a world away from the bling-obsessed Costa Smeralda.
Six more grand canyons of Europe
Vikos, Greece
Width: 30ft to 1,300ft
Depth: up to 3,300ft
Length: 7 miles
Its place in Guinness World Records as the world’s deepest gorge in relation to its width is inevitably disputed, but Vikos is an eye-popper when taken in from one of the three key viewpoints.
Ripping through the sublime Zagoria region in the north of Greece, it is a straightforward challenge to hike, with a breathtaking – in both senses – descent and ascent at either end. The U-shaped gorge narrows into a slot at the western extreme, where powerful springs spout a fully formed river of crystal water.
Get there
The cheapest way is to fly to Corfu, take a ferry to Igoumenitsa on the mainland, rent a car, then drive about 90 minutes. Or else fly to Thessaloniki, from where it is a four-hour drive.
Verdon, France
Width: 25ft to 4,000ft
Depth: up to 2,300ft
Length: 17 miles
We’re blessed by the fact that one of Europe’s mightiest canyons is barely two hours’ drive from the Cote d’Azur. The Gorges du Verdon in Provence is also easy to admire, with a rim road on either side giving access to various viewpoints, though the driving can be slightly scary.
Hiking the main portion is rewarding but tricky due to three tunnels; there are shorter options that will still give a fine impression. The cliffs on the gorge’s upper walls are often sprinkled with climbers.
Get there
Fly to Nice or (slightly further) Marseille, then a scenic drive.
Tara, Montenegro
Width: 60ft to 3,000ft
Depth: up to 4,300ft
Length: 50 miles
In terms of volume, the Tara is Europe’s biggest canyon. The most dramatic section is a deep inverted triangle among the mountains, inaccessible except by rafters, for whom this is a world mecca. For those who prefer to stay dry, finding the best viewpoints takes some investigation, though a bridge crossing 500ft above the foaming water helps. The lower depths of the gorge are splendidly replete with trees, waterfalls and caves; it’s a real lost world down there.
Get there
Fly to Tivat or Podgorica or (with much more choice) Dubrovnik in Croatia (but then it’s a half-day drive).
Samaria, Crete
Width: 10ft to 1,000ft
Depth: up to 1,000ft
Length: 8 miles
For a hugely satisfying – if exhausting – day out, the hike down the Samaria is hard to beat. There are two problems: one, you’ll share the route with up to 2,000 fellow wanderers in summer, and two, it’s a long way back to the start from where you end up at Agia Roumeli on the coast. Starting in the remote White Mountains, the canyon walk is downhill all the way, with the sheer sides squashing a narrow gap at a point known as The Gates. Best tackled as a day trip using a local tour operator.
Get there
Fly to Chania, about an hour by bus from the start and three hours (including boat ride) from the finish.
Paklenica, Croatia
Width: 150ft to 2,500ft
Depth: up to 2,200ft
Length: 8.5 miles
In the Paklenica National Park near the coast of North Dalmatia, you get two rocky gorges for the price of one: Velika (great) and Mala (small), which run parallel into the Velebit Mountains. Velika is the most popular, with a well-marked path and an interesting diversion to a show cave.
Remains of Bronze Age settlements and Tito’s secret hideaway can be observed. Mala is almost as momentous and the fact that it’s harder to negotiate means far fewer visitors make the effort.
Get there
Fly to Zadar, 30 miles away, or Split (130 miles).
Cares, Spain
Width: 100ft to 2,000ft
Depth: up to 3,000ft
Length: 7 miles
As if the Picos de Europa in northern Spain were not sensational enough, they boast a twisted gorge that dissects this national park. It’s hiker heaven; the trail, an old hydroelectric access path, is hewn out of the cliff high above the gurgling river. Mountain goats cling to rocks, griffon vultures wheel above. Most walkers go north to south, overnighting in the stone hamlets of Cain or Posada de Valdeon, hemmed in by lonely mountains.
Get there
Fly to Asturias or Santander airports; the north entry to the gorge at Poncebos is about a two-hour drive from either.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHLnp6rmaCde6S7ja6iaKyilsOmuI6dnKysmaOutbXOp6ponaWnvLGxjqKrmqSpZMCivsOipaKZX5a%2FtbXCpZysZ3mprq3FjIyYq5yZo7aiecCnm2asmJp6qL7Ap5tmm5GjxrC60mamn2V1qr%2BwvMRo