Baunei makes most sense from above: the village occupies a narrow band of hillside, and behind it the Golgo plateau opens into a basalt tableland unlike anywhere else in Ogliastra. The trails to the coves start here, and so does Su Sterru, one of the deepest karst shafts in Europe.
The municipality is vast and largely roadless: the Baunei coastline is reached on foot or by boat, never by car. That asymmetry — a small village and an enormous coast — explains why access to the coves is regulated and why it pays to check the rules before setting off.
