Extremely fine and soft sand is lapped by clear and iridescent blue waters, with contrasts of light created by the reflections of the sun. Between Monte Ferru, rich in woods and trails, and Quirra lies the Marina di Tertenia, about ten kilometres from the main centre of southern Ogliastra. It extends for twelve kilometres, consisting of beautiful sandy beaches, interspersed with rocky coasts, amongst which are the highlights of Foxi Manna (‘big outlet’) and Melisenda known as Foxi Murdegu, both offering many services such as bathing equipment and boat rental, camping sites and hotels, bars and restaurants, and ample parking including for motor homes. It lies near the coastal hills adorned with lush Mediterranean scrub.
The two coastal ‘jewels’ of Tertenia are separated by a promontory surmounted by the Torre di San Giovanni Sarrala, built in the early-18th century to sight enemies, later transformed into a bunker during World War II. Below the Torre is an access way to a small beach named Sarrala, with pebbles and a sprinkling of light-coloured sand. Here stood the original village of the same name, deriving from the Roman city of Saralapis. Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the area was involved in the extraction of minerals transported to the port of Santoru, in the southernmost part of the Marina.
Foxi Murdegu is located just after the beach of Coccorrocci (Gairo Sant’Elena), with an extent of 1.7 kilometres and a mix of light-coloured sand and pebbles. Its waters are transparent and iridescent blue. Mediterranean greenery surrounds the beach. To the north is the stretch of grey and pink pebbles and coarse-grained sand of Foxi de Lioni. To the south, it is separated by the isolated beach of su Prettu. Foxi Manna, at the foot of the beautiful Monte Cartucceddu, is shorter, being around a kilometre of soft, fine sand that is white in colour. This paradise of uncontaminated charm with a shallow seabed is bordered by rocks, ideal for snorkelling and underwater fishing. The water is clear, blue and turquoise. The beach is never crowded thanks to its extension, even in high season. The bay is dominated by the Nuraghe Aleri, the main of around 80 Nuraghi di Tertenia (in addition to approximately thirty Tombs of Giants, about twenty Nuragic villages and a sacred well). The three other Tertenia beaches are Abba Urci, with pink and grey pebbles that plunge into the transparent and sparkling waters, Tesonis, also known as the Sferracavallo beach, and Barisoni, both with coarse golden sand and pebbles. Besides the beaches, Tertenia has a myriad of natural attractions, especially the holm oak forests of Crabiolu, Fustiragili and Bingionniga set amongst fascinating landscapes between the sea and mountains (Monte Ferru, Monte Arbu and the Taccu Mannu). In the surrounds are the picturesque setting of the Rio Quirra and its tributaries, alongside fields planted with vineyards of Cannonau.
