Corsica: Route De Bavella
The Route De Bavella is a 75 km/46.6 mi long route which passes through some of the island’s diverse landscapes and is called the most beautiful mountain drive in Corsica. Therefore, it seemed like the right decision to take a road trip today with the added adventure of a 2 hour hike to Piscia di Gallu, said to be one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Corsica! There would be lots of places to stop and explore along the way.
The region we would be driving through is Alta Rocca, a southern mid-mountain territory located within the Regional Natural Park of Corsica. The scenery ranges from impressive rock formations, pine and beech forests, lovely lakes and rivers, very deep gorges, and the needle-like mountains called the Aiguilles de Bavella which are tall reddish granite pinnacles forming Corsica’s archetypal landmark.
We left from Bonifacio at 9:00am and drove 30 minutes to where the route officially starts in the town of Porto Vecchio, the largest city on the southeast coast. From there we took the winding D368 road which begins to climb slowly into the pine forests of L’Ospedale, the first mountain village situated 900 meters/2953 feet above sea level. In its northern part, a small panoramic platform affords spectacular views across the entire Gulf of Porto Vecchio to Sardinia. We stopped for coffee and a bit of a wander in the townl
LAC DE L’OSPEDALE: 4 km/2.5 mi further north, a forest of Lariccio pine and Beech trees perfectly reflect in still waters of the man made Lake l’Ospedale. The 733 hectare/1811 acre forest is a sanctuary for numerous endemic flora and fauna species while the dam provides drinking water to the extreme-sud (south) region. In spring, when filled, it can hold up to 3 million cubic meters of water.
WATERFALL PISCIA DI GALLU: 2 km north of the l’Ospedale dam starts a hike to Piscia di Gallu, referred to as “one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Corsica cascading 70 meters/230 feet down a vertiginous rocky wall.” A 4.6 km/2.85 mile round trip takes around 2 hours. The first half runs in the shade of the Lariccio pines along side a nearby river. The final rocky stretch descents sharply to a small viewing point that can get very crowded as this is a popular and very easily doable hike for most people. The view of the waterfall wasn’t as epic as we had hoped for but the hike was beautiful and a nice bit of exercise and movement in the middle of the road trip.
ZONZA: Half-way through the trip, we stopped in Zonza, a charming mountain village located 15 km/9.3 miles further north on D268., which was a perfect choice for lunch. They have a number of lovely outdoor cafe’s to choose from.
COL DE BAVELLA: After enjoying a lovely lunch, we continued on our road trip and drove over the Col de Bavella, Corsica’s famous mountain pass (1218 m/3996 ft) dominated by views of the Aiguilles de Bavella, majestic granite needles towering above the Alta Rocca region. There is a car park making it easy to get out, explore, and enjoy the views. Interestingly, there was a bunch of tiger cows just hanging out, one ended up taking quite the interest in me. For reasons unknown, one left its shady spot under the tree, walked all the way over to stand very near me. We just hung out quietly with each other for a while. Apparently, I was doing some cow whispering. On top of a rock hill is a marble statue of Notre-Dame-des Neiges, a patron saint of Bavella, who overlooks the pass offering her blessing to visiting pilgrims.
We then stopped at another spot on the river with lovely little cascading waterfalls and put our feet in the water. I seem to also have been a dragonfly whisperer that day as well. I feel I was making great connections all day!
We stopped at yet another gorgeous lookout point for another picture with the Aiguilles de Bavella in the background. The drive ends in the town of Solenzara which we found very uninteresting so we drove back down to Porto Vecchio, had a glass of wine and some local cheese, and found ourselves back in Bonifacio 12 hours later, just in time for dinner.
