Corsica H2O - Trekking in search of fresh water

Corsica, an island surrounded by the sea, an island of mountains. An island of beached, windsurf and sailing boats, but also trekking, canyoning, climbing and skiing. This striking contrast characterises this French island, where water is without a doubt the main player, in both its forms, salt and fresh.

Nome Difficulty Beauty Purcaraccia waterfall Medium In the course of thousands of years the Purcaraccia river has sculpted a fascinating natural water park with a series of long waterfalls and enchanting pools. Ideal for canyoners and those in search of unspoilt nature, this walk will not disappoint. Radule waterfall Easy An easy and nice walk that leads through a beautiful pine and larch and silver birch forest to the Bergeries de Radule and its enchanting small waterfall. The itinerary is varied, shady, without too much height gain and not exposed and therefore ideal for families or as an introductory first walk in the Val di Niello. Lac de Nino Medium Interesting and varied walk that starts from the Poppaghia forest and leads past a rocky and arid valley to the idyllic Lac de Nino, where cows, goats and horses graze in a fairy-tale setting. Lake Melo and Lake Capitello Medium Despite its popularity, the walk up to lakes Melo and Capitello remains one of those itineraries which one must simply do. If you leave early in the morning you’ll manage to escape the consistent flow of hikers and, more importantly, you’ll manage to climb up to Lake Melo in the cool shade. From here the itinerary steepens and in just 45 minutes leads to the deepest lake in Corsica: steep rock walls plunge 42m deep into the icy waters of Lake Capitello. Absolutely not to be missed!

Our search begins with two walks in Val di Niello, to the northwest of Corte, deep in the heart of the Corsican mountains. Compared to other valley Niello is perhaps less fascinating landscape-wise, but its beauty lies in its simplicity and absence of crowds. It would be a shame to miss out on its pine, larch and birch forest at the Bergeries de Radule and Lake Nino high above in the west, quite likely completely alone.

After these two walks we travel southwards to the Restonica valley, renowned as one of the most beautiful on the island. Here, close to Corte and it’s university, there truly is something for every day of the year: walks, ski mountaineering, ice climbing and sport climbing on the fabulous granite crags. We decide to do what seems most obvious: we get up early for the splendid walk up to Lake Melo and Lake Campitello. Just gone midday we return enchanted to our campsite next to the stream, while most others are only just begin their ascent, beneath the scorching sun…

The final stage of our fresh water search leads us to the fantastic granite Bavella spires. It seems superfluous to say it but we’ll say it nevertheless: this is a paradise for climbing and canyoning, a truly enchanting area for its multi-pitch classics. But there’s plenty for walkers, too, and our itinerary takes us into the cold heart of these giants via a canyon worn smooth in time. Unforgettable.

Getting there
Corsica can be reached by plane or by ferry to Bastia.
Access to the valleys
Valle di Niello can be reached by taking the N193 towards Corte (70km). Take the D84 before reaching Corte for Calacuccia.
Val Restonica is located 10km southwest of Corte on the D623.
Bavella is reached by taking the N198 along the east coast to Solenzara. from here take the D268 for Col de Bavella.

Maps
42451 OT Monte d’oro, Monte Rotondo 1:25000
4253 ET Aiguilles de Bavella Solenzara

Further info
We recommend the following campsites:
Camping U Monte Cintu in Valle di Niello
Camping Tuani in Val Restonica
La Rivière close toCol de Bavella

Link
www.visit-corsica.com
www.corsicaferries.com
www.mobylines.it