Urzulei extends up the slopes of the imposing Monte Gruttas, surrounded by the impervious and wild landscapes of the Supramonte, reaching heights of a thousand metres and replete with ravines, sheer cliffs, chasms, dolines and gullies right up to the sea. A town of 1,300 inhabitants to the north of Ogliastra, Urzulei borders the Barbagie mountain area of inner Sardinia and is dedicated to animal farming, resulting in exquisite delicacies: hams and Guanciale (cured meat from pork or wild boar jowl or cheek) and cheese, including casu marciu, sa frue and caglio di capretto.

On the border with Orgosolo, the deep su Gorropu gorge is truly impressive. At 500 metres in length and 1.5 kilometres wide, it is one of the largest and most spectacular canyons in Europe, modelled over the millennia by the Flumineddu, one of the two major waterways in the area, together with the Codula di Luna, which flows gently to the Gulf of Orosei. Thousand-year-old junipers and yew, holm-oak forests such as su Fennau, and Mediterranean essences fill the valleys, coloured in spring by orchids, peonies, and oleanders. It is the habitat of the mouflon and the golden eagle. In the oasis of sa Portiscra, the Sardinian deer can also be glimpsed.