The pink beach of the island of Budelli

Submitted by Monia Melis on Tue, 2011-07-05 09:50

In Sardinia Sardinia - Northern Side La Maddalena Archipelago Budelli EcoTravel Families and kids Love and Romance Nature and Outdoors

Budelli, one of the Maddalena Islands, is famous for its pink sand beach, composed of fragments of mixed pink shells, coral and granite. The beach, which once almost disappeared, is unique and now part of the Maddalena National Park.

In north-east Sardinia are located the Mediterranean's most well-known archipelago, the Maddalena Islands. Composed of seven islands, the archipelago is characterized by its granite rock which have taken on bizarre shapes due to the wind and sea. These Sardinian islands also boast beautiful sea-beds, which are much appreciated with divers.

Among the smallest and least populated islands is Budelli, an ideal destination for a boat trip discovering the famous "spiaggia rosa", or pink beach, as the sand is pink owing to the presence of small pieces of granite together with shells and fragments of coral.

The beach, situated in a cove, is situated in the southern part of Budelli; this unique location was made famous as some scenes of the film Deserto Rosso (Red Desert) by Michelangelo Antonioni, were made here in the 1960s.

The beach is also talked about because it almost disappeared when too man visitors would take handfuls of pink sand home with them as a souvenir. For years now there are restrictions for access to the beach, which can be visited only by guides of the Maddalena National Park which includes the island of Budelli. This decision often causes controversy however it is necessary to stop the beach disappearing altogether.

Now the beach is accessible only from the sea and can be visited thanks to boats belonging to the National Park and precautionary measure adopted necessary to restore the cove to its natural state.