Orgosolo, whose name comes from the Greek orgàs 'rich soil and full of water', is the heart of Barbagia; situated in a hollow at the foot of the impressive calcareous plateau of Supramonte, 18 km from Nuoro, is surrounded by a particularly amazing and suggestive countryside, with its beautiful landscapes of high cliffs, caves, canyons made by the Cedrino and dolinas.
From the bare calcareous rock sprung the ancient forest of the Supramonte unique for its richness and variety of holm-oaks, oaks, junipers, as well as a thick vegetation, sometimes impenetrable, where it is difficult yet possible, to meet specimens of the Sardinian fauna, such as the mouflons, the wild boars, the golden eagle that with their magnificent flight dominate the place. Here you can also find su sorighe 'e padente 'the dormouse’, that together with the garden dormouse are frequent prey of the infallible talon of the goshawk.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the village it is possibile to visit some archeological sites of great interest, witnessing the Sardinian pre-history and history: those dating back to pre-history and proto-history are the more attractive because of their singularity, so much to represent an identity brand for the island, its people, and of its more ancient civil life. Dating back to the Neolithic age (8.000/3.000 a. C.) we keep more than 70 domus de janas ‘fairy houses’, in fact prehistoric tombs digged in the rock from the people that lived in Sardinia in the Neolithic; the Orgosolo ones are particularly amazing because digged in the hard granite and for its position in a incomparably beautiful countryside.
Besides a belief in the afterlife, there is the cult of the forefathers, whose memory can be transmitted in the menhir dating to that period, made up of isolated monolithic blocks, several meters high, vertically fixed in the ground. Less ancient, dating to the Bronze Age, are the nuraghi, cyclindrical towers with one or two communicating floors through a spiral stair, that are supposed to serve as a defence points or as a dwelling place for the local chiefs. During the centuries they have charmed many visitors of the island; among them the majestic nuraghe Mereu made up with calcareous blocks that confer it the peculiar white colour. It stands out against the surrounding land and it overlooks the impressive Gola di Gorroppu, the deepest canyon in Europe (up to 400 m). Punic and Roman remains testify a uninterrupted presence, from Neolithic to the Roman age.