Sa Barza

Coccorrocci

Cardedu

A dark pebble beach unlike any other in Ogliastra, and a young municipality born out of farmland.

The pebble beach of Coccorrocci in the early morning light

The pebble beach of Coccorrocci in the early morning light — Photo: Vid Pogacnik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Coccorrocci is not a sand beach. It is an expanse of smoothed pebbles in tones from grey to dark green, delivered by the watercourses draining the interior. The entry into the water is steep and the setting is harsher than the coves further north.

Cardedu as a municipality is recent, created by administrative separation from a neighbouring town in the twentieth century. That explains a scattered settlement pattern — more countryside than village.

The essential answers

What is it?
A coastal municipality in southern Ogliastra, best known for the pebble beach of Coccorrocci.
Where is it?
Between Bari Sardo and Tertenia, on the east coast.
Why visit?
Because the make-up of the pebbles — volcanic and metamorphic in origin — explains the geology of the hinterland better than any signboard.
How do you get there?
By car from the eastern trunk road on a local road to the sea.
When to go?
May to October; the open sea here is more exposed, so settled weather helps.
What is nearby?
Bari Sardo, Tertenia, Jerzu, Gairo.
Where to stay?
From I Mandorli it is a convenient stop on a day devoted to southern Ogliastra.
The pebble beach of Coccorrocci in the early morning light

Where to stay

A base for exploring east Sardinia

From I Mandorli it is a convenient stop on a day devoted to southern Ogliastra.

I Mandorli, a base for CardeduWhere to stay