Piscinas Dunes

The Piscinas dunes cover several square kilometres on the Costa Verde, built by the mistral driving sand inland, with crests reaching around sixty metres, among the highest in Europe. Juniper, mastic and helichrysum grow on them, and the roots hold the sand while the plants themselves are shaped and half-buried by it. Sardinian deer live in the scrub and loggerhead turtles have nested on the beach. Behind the dunes stand the remains of the Ingurtosu and Montevecchio mines, which worked lead and zinc into the twentieth century and left buildings, a washery and a mining village now largely abandoned.

What you actually see

• The high dunes - crests up to sixty metres, among Europe's largest.
• The buried juniper - shrubs half-covered and shaped by moving sand.
• The abandoned mines - Ingurtosu and Montevecchio buildings inland.
• The empty beach - a long shore with almost no development.

When to go

April to June and September to October; summer is hot with no shade at all. The access road is unpaved and rough, and can be difficult after rain.

Honest expectations

The access road is unsurfaced and slow, and low cars struggle. There is no shade and almost no facilities. Walking on marked dune paths only is asked.

Nearby

Porto Flavia lies north; the Costa Verde runs along the shore.