For an English-speaking hiker who wants a paper guide to Sardinia’s Supramonte, there is a particularly useful current option: Andreas Stieglitz’s Walking on Sardinia, published by Sunflower Books. The sixth edition appeared in 2025 and includes a substantial Supramonte section rather than treating the mountains as a brief detour from Sardinia’s beaches. For more technical multi-day trekking around Baunei, a specialist English guide to the Supramonte of Baunei and Selvaggio Blu goes considerably deeper.
The distinction matters. The Supramonte is not one marked hiking park with a single trail system. It is a rugged limestone region extending across areas associated with Oliena, Orgosolo, Dorgali, Urzulei and Baunei, with gorges, plateaus, old shepherd paths, coastal descents and routes where navigation can be demanding. A general Sardinia guide is useful for day walks; Selvaggio Blu and other remote traverses require much more specialized information.
Walking on Sardinia: the strongest current all-round paper guide
Sunflower Books’ current Walking on Sardinia is the sixth edition, published in 2025. It is an English-language paperback of 144 pages with 40 long and short walks, six car tours, a touring map and 1:50,000 topographical maps. The publisher also provides downloadable GPS tracks.
Most importantly for this question, eight of its numbered walks are grouped specifically under “Supramonte.” They include Monte Corrasi from Maccione, Tiscali from the Flumineddu/Scala de Surtana area, Gola di Gorropu from Ponte Sa Barva, Cala di Luna from Cala Gonone, a route through Codula de sa Mela, a walk around Grotta Su Marmuri, Cala Goloritzè from Golgo and a Baunei-to-Santa Maria Navarrese route.
That selection makes the book particularly practical for a visitor staying in Oliena, Dorgali, Cala Gonone, Baunei or Santa Maria Navarrese and planning individual day hikes rather than one continuous expedition.
The current edition has ISBN 978-1-85691-555-7 and a listed U.S. retail price of $23. The publisher says a printed edition is available as well as a PDF version, so travelers specifically wanting a physical book should make sure they order the paperback rather than the download.
A specialist book for Baunei and Selvaggio Blu
Hikers whose real objective is the Supramonte of Baunei should also look at Supramonte of Baunei and Selvaggio Blu Walking Guidebook. The English-language edition was published in 2020, runs to 208 pages and has ISBN 9788885475625.
This is not simply a collection of pleasant half-day walks. It describes five long-distance treks across the Baunei Supramonte between the Santa Maria Navarrese area and Cala Luna: De Barracu in Barracu, Su Accargiu, Selvaggio Blu, Areste and Filu Pendere.
The guide includes daily maps, GPS waypoints, distance, elevation gain, estimated times, terrain information, bivouac locations, water and resupply information, escape routes and emergency-recovery points. It also covers climbing and abseiling requirements on the more difficult itineraries.
That level of detail is important because the famous Selvaggio Blu is not an ordinary waymarked long-distance trail. The specialist guide describes routes that can include exposed terrain, climbing, via-ferrata-style sections and abseils, while water logistics and navigation are serious considerations.
What about the older Cicerone guide?
Paddy Dillon’s Walking in Sardinia, published by Cicerone, is another well-known English title. The 2011 guide describes 50 day walks concentrated particularly in northeast Sardinia, Ogliastra, Supramonte and Gennargentu. It has 208 pages and ISBN 9781852846190.
Its geographic emphasis is excellent for mountain walkers: the guide covers places such as Nuoro, Oliena, Dorgali, Baunei and Cala Gonone and explicitly discusses the rugged limestone Supramonte. However, it is now an older edition. Trail conditions, access arrangements, signage and local regulations can change considerably in fifteen years, so it should not be used as the sole current source for navigation or access information.
It remains useful for route ideas and background, especially if a copy is already on your shelf, but a newly purchased guide is better based around current information.
Another option: the Rother walking guide
Rother’s English-language Sardinia: 63 Selected Coastal and Mountain Walks by Walter Iwersen and Elisabeth van de Wetering is another established paper guide. Its route list includes Supramonte-related destinations such as Gorropu, Goloritze, Punta Giradili and Baunei.
Like the older Cicerone volume, however, editions in circulation may predate recent access changes. It is useful as a broad island walking reference but should be paired with up-to-date local information.
Why a printed book is not enough in the Supramonte
A physical guidebook is valuable because it does not depend on mobile coverage or battery life, but the Supramonte is exactly the kind of environment where relying on one source is a bad idea. Climb Europe’s current guidance for the area notes that many paths are unmarked and that natural freshwater is scarce, making planning and navigation essential.
SardegnaTurismo likewise describes old shepherd and charcoal-burner paths, ravines, gorges and difficult coastal terrain in the Baunei Supramonte. For Selvaggio Blu and more technical routes, it advises considering a local guide or technical assistance, and notes that municipal rules can require hikers to notify their presence for certain excursions.
Before leaving, check current municipal ordinances, weather, trail closures and any reservation or access requirements. Carry an offline GPS track and a charged phone or dedicated navigation device even if you prefer navigating from paper.
Water deserves special attention. Limestone terrain can be extremely dry, and a spring or water source shown in an old description should never be assumed to be usable. For a demanding route, confirm water logistics locally shortly before departure.
Which book should you pack?
For a first Supramonte trip based around day hikes, the 2025 Sunflower Walking on Sardinia is the most straightforward current English paperback because it combines eight specific Supramonte routes with maps, GPS tracks and walks elsewhere on the island. It can cover a holiday that includes Monte Corrasi, Tiscali, Gorropu and Cala Goloritzè without carrying several specialist volumes.
If the trip is specifically about Baunei, multi-day trekking or Selvaggio Blu, the dedicated Supramonte of Baunei and Selvaggio Blu Walking Guidebook is the more relevant technical companion. It contains the stage-level logistics that a general island guide cannot reasonably provide.
The best setup is therefore simple: carry a current printed guide appropriate to the type of hiking you plan, download the corresponding GPS material before entering the mountains and verify conditions locally. In the Supramonte, a good book is an excellent starting point—but current information and conservative route planning are just as important as the pages in your backpack.
