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MARE ET MONTI CORSICA
PROGRAM 13 days walk
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Day 1 : Calvi
If you fly in to Ajaccio you can take the
train to Calvi (€25,- not included).
Your holiday starts
at your hotel in Calvi, after checking in, you have the opportunity
to explore the town. If you would like to start your holiday
in Ajaccio consult us at the moment of reservation.
Night
at your hotel in Calvi. Evening meal not included.
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Day 2: Calenzana to Bonifatu
At 8am transfer by taxi to
Calenzana (included).
Leaving Calenzana your route follows
the famous GR20 along an old mule trail, you climb progressively
up to the Ortiventi fountain, from where you can look back at
Calenzana and the villages of the Balagne. You then drop down
on to an old path known as the postman’s route, which cuts through
the forest of Sambuccu. You pass a small Col before going gently
down hill to reach the Figarella bridge. Once across the bridge
you follow the left bank, and then a slight climb up to the
‘Auberge de la foret’.
Night and evening meal at the auberge
in Bonifatu
Standard package: chambre d'Hôtes .
5h00 effective walking, +590m altitude, -287m
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Day 3: Bonifatu to Tuarelli or Galeria
At a nearby bridge
you follow a forestry track that is known as the ‘chemin de
ronde’, that gently climbs towards the south-west, passing the
ruins of the house belonging to Prince Pierre. You then progress
into a forest of maritime pines and green oak trees. At an altitude
of 1200m you arrive at the Bocca di Bocassa. After approximately
3 hours of a very rewarding and relaxing section you arrive
at Tuarelli rock pools, the perfect place for a laze on the
sun baked rocks and a swim.
Night and evening meal at hotel
in Montestremo or Galeria. You will get a transfer from Tuarelli
to either Montestremo or Galeria
Standard package: Gite (dormitory
in Montestremo) or Hotel ** or *** in Galeria.
7h00 effective
walking, +620m altitude, -1050m.
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Day 4: Roundwalk Vallée du Fango at Galeria or walk from
Montestremo to Galeria
You walk from the the beach at Galeria
village to the beach at the Fangu river. If you feel more like
walking instead of swimming you ga make a round walk by the
Pont des Cinq Arcades and reach the Tra Mare et Monti to come
back in Galeria. Your route then climbs into the maquis and
passes several old shepherds cabins. Your day’s walk finishes
with a short down hill stretch in to the village of Galeria
where you are rewarded with stunning views over Fangu.
Night
and evening meal at hotel in Galeria.
If you start in Montestremo
you will walk in the Valley of the Fangu to Ponte Veechiu. At
le Fango your route then climbs into the maquis and passes several
old shepherds cabins. Your day’s walk finishes with a short
down hill stretch in to the village of Galeria where you are
rewarded with stunning views over Fangu.
Night and evening
meal at hotel in Galeria.
Standard package: Hotel ** or ***.
2h00 effective walking, +221m altitude, -271m
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Day 5: Galeria to Girolata
Today you start by following
a beautiful path shaded from the sun. Your path leads you to
a natural pool, and an uphill section alongside the river bank.
You will shortly come across an area of vegetation, after this
you will emerge in to a forest of oaks before reaching the Crète
du Lucciu (697m). From here you will have remarkable views over
the gulf of Girolta, the Genoese tower and the red granite cliffs.
You continue west along the ridge path, to reach the River Cavone
and the coast. This is also a beautiful spot to swim, to cool
off after your days walk.
Night and evening meal at Gîte
in Girolata. Girolata can only be reached by boat or on foot.
So you will have to take whatever you need for one night. The
other luggage will be brought directly to Curzu.
Standard
package: dormitory.
6h00 effective walking, +754m altitude,
-784m.
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Day 6 : Girolata to Curzu From Girolata’s beach, you follow
the ridge path that runs alongside the coast, after around 3
hours you will arrive at the foot of Punta di u Tartavellu,
from here continue around to the West to arrive at Bocca Ascencu
(742m). Continuing along the ridge path in a south-westerly
direction you can admire exceptional views over Scandola’s natural
reserve, one of the largest natural sites in Europe, which displays
an explosion of colors and fantastic landscapes. Once at Capu
di Curzu (852m) you rapidly loose altitude as your path progresses
into a series of loops before reaching Curzu.
Night and
evening meal at Gîte in Curzu.
Standard package: chambre
d'Hôtes.
6h00 effective walking, +675m altitude, -1135m.
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Day 7 : Curzu to Serriera
From the Gîtes, you climb through
the village and head in a south-westerly direction along a path
that overlooks the village of Partinellu and the bay of Porto,
the only French natural site to appear on UNESCO’s world heritage
list. You then start down hill towards the River Vetricella,
and after walking alongside the river for around 50 metres,
your path climbs, you will soon arrive at the ‘Chemin de Serriera
Pinetu’. Once passing this you will shortly arrive at the Bocca
di u Furcatu, the last stretch before Serriera.
Night and
evening meal at your hotel/Chambre d'Hôtes in Serriera .
3h30 effective walking, +364m altitude, -604m.
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Extra day : Serriera to Porto
Light stage. Leaving Serriera
head to the bridge Pont de Serriera over the Santa Maria stream
you head to the beach at Bussaglia. After enjoying some swim
climb up to the Bocca Lenzana before going down to Porto. A
very pleasant touristy but authentic village at the beautiful
Golfe de Porto with subtropical vegetation with woods of Eucalyptus
trees. If you want to you can rent here a car to visit the Calanches
of Piana.
Night and evening meal at Hotel in Porto.
Standard
package: chambre d'Hôtes.
6h30 effective walking, +880m
altitude, -570m.
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Day 8 : Serriera to Ota
The stage starts with a transfer
to Serriera. Leaving Serriera head to the bridge over the Santa
Maria stream, to climb up to the Lonca forestry track and emerging
into the forest. You will soon arrive at the rocky belvedere
a beautiful viewpoint over Serriera. Crossing through the pine
and chestnut forest, you can notice a ‘sechoir chataignes’ a
small stone structure used by the villagers to stock their chestnuts
while they dried. On the way down into the Vitrone ravine, the
granite rock faces have a lot of distinctive red porphyry.
Night and evening meal at Gîte in Ota.
Standard package:
chambre d'Hôtes.
6h30 effective walking, +880m altitude,
-570m.
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Day 9 : Ota to Evisa
From Ota you walk past the Ceccaldi
village restaurant, past braying donkeys, noisy hunting dogs
and colourful gardens, to pick up the path. Following the direction
of the river the path is down hill and in the shade of the olive
trees. You cross over the narrow, high arched Genoise bridge
‘Ponte Vechju’ and shortly arrive at the entrance of the Spelunca
Gorge, a great rest and swim spot. The first part of the gorge
is fairly flat but once across the second small Genoise bridge
it starts to zig zag up hill, it is well graded but there is
a lot of altitude to gain to arrive in Evisa with bars, bakers
and post office in the village of Evisa (after 7,5 km)
**
hotel in Evisa. After Evisa you are not going to Marignana but
you can do a round-walk by the Mare a Mare Nord (Sentier de
découverte) to the Piscine a Madre (natural pools in the Aitone
stream) and back to Evisa the same way (14,1 km). Next day however
a longer walk from Evisa via Marignana. Evisa is the pearl of
the mountains, a vibrant mountain village, that has wonderful
sunsets over the nearby sea. It is known for it's chestnut
forests, a lot of the recipes are still chestnut based. A trail
will lead you through the chestnut trees to the Aitone pine
forest, here you will find a natural beauty spot, the emerald
green rock pools and chutes of water that make up the piscines
naturels.)
12,5 km, 5h00 effective walking, +650m altitude,
-260m.
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Day 10 : Evisa to Marignana and Revinda (E Case)
Transfer
for the night in Cargese.
Starting from Evisa you will reach
Marignana after 5 km and 2 hours walking.
After 6,2 km you
reach the Bocca a u Mamucciu at 824m alt. By the Mare a Mare
Nord and the Mare e Monti Nord combined you reach after 22km
and 8,5 hrs walking (if you started from Evisa) the end in Revinda.
It is possible to start with a taxi-transfer from Evisa to
Marignana ( 25 supplement). If you book a transfer to Marignana
and start from Marignana:6h30 effective walking, +610m altitude,
-720 m
Past the bars, bakers and post office you go through
the village of Evisa and onto the lowest road. Walking away
from the centre you soon come to a track that heads off into
the old chestnut tree woods. The path is easy under foot and
was once a well trodden link to the neighbouring villages. You
will find all the typical plants that make up the Corsican maquis
as you make your way towards the Tavulella river. Once across
the river you will shortly arrive at the mystical hamlet of
Tassu, a peaceful little haven of houses, church and abandoned
terracing. Now just a short 20 mins walk from Marignana.
You'll get your luggage the next day at Cargese
6h30
effective walking, +610m altitude, -720 m
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Day 11 : Revinda to Cargese. Start with a transfer to Revinda.
You leave Revinda by a path that will give some splendid views
on the Golfe de Chiuni. You then begin to edge your way down
hill, passing the Santa Lucia shepherds cabins and the village
of Lozzi, situated just before your day’s destination Cargese,
a beautiful historical town boasting two churches: ‘l’Eglise
Latine’ and ‘l’Eglise Grecque’.
Night and evening meal at
your hotel in Cargese.
5h00 effective walking, +380m altitude,
-910m.
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Day 12 : Leave Cargese for Ajaccio by bus.
Transfer to
Ajaccio is not included in the package. Bus Not possible on
Sundays!!)
You leave Cargese by bus in the morning (not
included), once back in Ajaccio you have the choice of 2 walks
along the ‘Sentier des Crètes’, a trail that overlooks the gulf
of Ajaccio with magnificent views out to sea, over the town
and the surrounding mountains. There is also the possibility
of visiting the Iles Sanguinaires by boat’.
From 2h30 to
4h00 effective walking, from +140m altitude to +340m, from 6km
to 11km depending on your chosen option.
Your holiday comes
to end in Ajaccio.
Option of returning to Calvi, by taking
the ‘Trinichellu’, Corsica’s rail service, which runs from north
to south via the centre of the island (Not included : 25).
- Day 13 : End of package after breakfast
Although it is our intention to operate the itinerary exactly
as detailed above, it may be necessary to make changes as a result of
factors beyond our control. As a consequence, the itinerary or night
stops may be modified and we reserve the right to make changes when/if
necessary. Abnormal conditions can prevail in any holiday; be prepared
to be flexible when necessary.
IMPORTANT PRECISIONS
LEVEL
You walk on walking trails
with good footpaths and tracks. You need to be used to walking and take
regular exercise to enjoy this holiday. There is between 5h00 and 6h00
effective walking each day. The ascents and descents are constant. There
will be between 400m and 900m ascension per day. The effective walking
time is an indication of how long it will take you, though walking speed
varies enormously. The estimations do not take into account time for
route finding and stops along the way.
CARRYING
you will
have to carry a day sack only, with your water bottle, camera, picnic
and Gortex jacket.
Our bag-moving service means you can travel light.
There are two night stops that are not accessible by vehicle and you
will have to carry a minimum of personal gear for the night. This applies
to Girolata and sometimes to Revinda which are two spots of wild, natural
beauty.
Your main luggage - will be transported by vehicle between
the different hotels. We ask you to please limit your main luggage to
between 10-15kg to facilitate the transportation and carrying for the
taxis. It is also important to consider that it may be necessary to
carry your bags short distances around at the start or end of your holiday,
to and from the bus station for example.
LODGING: A mix of hotels,
chambres d'Hôtes and Gîtes
MEALS: Continental breakfast (tea,
coffee, bread, butter and jam) ; Evening meals in the Gîte restaurants,
often local specialities consisting of a starter, main course, cheese
or desert.
STARTING POINT and END
The starting point is at
your hotel in Calvi at 12h00 onwards. It is also possible to start your
holiday from Ajaccio, please discuss with us at the time of your reservation.
Consult with us for left luggage facilities.
ORGANIZATION
We propose a self guided, independent walking formula. You choose
your departure date (you can start any day of the week) and we will
take care of all the rest. We transport your bags between the different
night stops, provide the maps and good walking route notes. This is
a way of enjoying complete flexibility, you dictate the walking pace
and rhythm of your holiday.
DATES
Departures every Sunday
from the start of April to the end of October.
HOW TO TRAVEL
TO CORSICA
By Air Direct charter flights during the season from
Gatwick and Heathrow offered by Air France, British Midland. Contact
Holiday Options or Sky Marketing. Scheduled services via Paris. You
can also change at Montpellier or Nice for connecting flights.
By
Boat A high speed service BGV, overnight ferries and semi-fast ferries
offer a regular service to Ajaccio port. SNCM Ferries - 61 Boulevard
des dames - 13005 Marseille. Departs from Marseille, Nice or Toulon.
Corsica Ferries, Moby Lines, departs from Toulon, Nice and Italie.
By Bus: Find all information at https://www.corsicabus.org/
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