Punta Cupetti

Overview

Punta Cupetti is the westernmost summit of the Monte Albo chain in Sardinia / Sardegna. Like Monte Turuddo on the other side of the chain it is a solitary standing mountain, separated by the rest of the group by a deep pass. All the other Monte Albo summits between Punta Catirina in the southwest and Punta Guturgius in the northwest form a single ridge in between. Though Punta Cupetti is formed by the same white limestone rock like the other Monte Albo summits its character is quite different. Its summit is composed of many (about 10) minor summits which all rise above 950m but don’t exceed 1029m, the elevation of the highest one of them.

To the eastern and northern sides Punta Cupetti shows vertical faces. To the north these faces are rather eroded and form gullies with lots of towers. To the east the mountain culminates in a double summit, Punta su Pigiu (980m) which dominates the views of Monte Albo from the north. It towers above the town of Siniscola and serves as the destination of the normal route onto Punta Cupetti. It even boasts a summit “cross”. The drawback of Punta su Pigiu, however, is a quarry pit which has been dug deep into Monte Albo to the southwest of Siniscola and which mars the views (and acoustics) on the summit.

Still the views towards Monte Limbara, Punta Maggiore, Supramonte and the coastal bays are great. Turn to the southwest for the best view: look along the whole Monte Albo chain and see Punta Catirina and Monte Turuddo in the far background. And as has been shown on the other Monte Albo pages on SP it is home for many flowers, among them beautiful orchids. Look at the Ophrys picture below, a species which resembles the very insects (males) which come to visit them. This one is (probably) a hybrid between Ophrys Apifera and Tethredinifera thus (as you can figure from their German names) courting wasps and bees.



Interactive overview map of the Monte Albo mountain range. The summits which have been posted to SP are marked in red.

Getting There

Sardinia can be reached either by plane or by ferry. The main ports are Porto Torres and Olbia in the north and Arbatax and Cagliari in the south. Airports are at Alghero and Olbia in the north as well as (again) Arbatax and Cagliari in the south. For exploring the northeastern part of the island where most of the mountains are the best entry point is Olbia, which is where most flights go anyway.

Approaching the mountain from Olbia airport
From Olbia take motorway SS131 to the northern exit at Siniscola. Drive into the center of the town and take the road to Lodè, which heads for Passo Santa Anna. 5km after the town of Siniscola there is a parking place (unmarked) at a right curve. This serves as the trailhead for Punta Cupetti.