The Sette Fratelli – Monte Genis Regional Park, lies to the south-east of the island in the Province of Sud Sardegna. With an expanse of around 60 thousand hectares, it takes in the municipalities of Burcei, Castiadas, Maracalagonis, Quartucciu, Quartu Sant’Elena, San Vito, Sinnai, Villasalto and Villasimius and is one of the largest parks in Sardinia.
The park area is mainly mountainous with granite rock and has an abundance of small valleys and rivers. The main peaks coming in at around one thousand metres are: Punta Serpeddì (1067 m a.s.l.), the peaks of the Sette Fratelli (Punta Sa Ceraxa, 1018 m a.s.l.) and Monte Genis (979 m a.s.l.).
A number of torrential rivers run through the forest. The rivers in the north-eastern area feed into the Sarrabus pond system. To the west, they flow into the rio Maidopis, while to the south, they feed into the rio sa Ceraxa, which emerges into the Geremeas coastline and the rio Su Pau which emerges into the Flumini (Quartu S.Elena) area. These rivers characterise the landscape giving rise to small natural pools and waterfalls.
The vegetation offers an abundance of typical plants as well as various essences in the Mediterranean area. The forest is dominated by plants of holm oak, cork, downy oak and broom. We can find strawberry trees, thyme, lavender, heather and viburnum in the undergrowth and shrub. In the lower regions, we find myrtle, Mastic tree, wild olive and juniper. In addition to these, we can find oleander, poplar trees and willow trees along the riverbanks.
The forest is a natural habitat for the Sardinian deer, boar, rabbits, hares, martens and wild cats. Furthermore, in a protected, fenced-off area, there are specimens of fallow deer. The mouflon, extinct in this area, was reintroduced from 1987 onwards (in the Monte Genis section).
A number of birds of prey live in the area including the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, barn owls and the Goshawk, species typically found in Sardinia.
Inside the park we can find a number of interesting places like the “Sa Perda de sa Pippia“, a huge granite rock and the ruins of “Su Gunventu” (590 m a.s.l.)
The park can easily be reached from Cagliari along the trunk road SS 125 “Orientale sarda” as far as km 30, at the Arcu ‘e Tidu crossing (fork for Burcei). Turn right at the fork towards the service centre, the “former Umberto Noci” barracks, in Campu Omu. A number of marked paths leave from here, partially included in the Sardinian stretch of the Sentiero Italia (Grand Italian Trail).
The park is part of the Sites of Community Importance (SCI) “Monte dei Sette Fratelli e Sarrabus” (ITB041106), regulated by the Rete Natura 2000.
