Difficulty: easy
Type: round trip
Duration: 2h and 50 min
Difference in height: + 340 m / - 340 m
Length: 5,5 km
Attention: no water points available. Go back along the same itinerary.
Presentation
Bastelica is a charming mountain village which is located at an altitude of 800 metres. This small village is known for being the birthplace of Sampiero Corso, for its proximity to the Val d'Ese ski resort, for its streams and numerous waterfalls.
This walk is rather long but fairly easy: you should visit the village, in particular the parish church of St Michael (which contains seven works of art classified as historical monuments), the statue of Sampiero Corso (which was made in 1890 and which is 3.50 high) and the Genoese bridge of Zipitoli (which connected Bastelica to Ajaccio).
Road access
From Ajaccio you must take the direction to Sartène until you reach the village of Cauro, about 20 kilometres from the imperial city. At the exit of Cauro you must take the road D27 in the direction of Bastelica – keep driving until you reach the village. From Bastelica you must follow the road signs to reach the restaurant Chez Paul. You can park your car on the right, near a bend.
Itinerary
The starting point is located at the fountain and is clearly marked by the panel for A piscia d'Ortola. After a few metres of walking, you can see a ruined house: it is here that you must leave the main path and take the secondary one on your right. This path, which is often overgrown with Corsican scrub, climbs fairly quickly in the shade of a chestnut grove that has some centuries-old trees. Continue along the path until you reach a small hill where you can catch your breath.
After this short break, you must take the path in a north-westerly direction. This path descends very gradually until you reach a small bridge and the old irrigation canal – which was built in the 18th century to divert Volta's water for the village of Bastelica. Keep following the path to reach the waterfall: note that it rises rather gently for about thirty minutes, but the ascent becomes more challenging to reach the upper channel. After this last effort, you can admire the waterfall of Ortola. Be careful if you have children: the path can be quite slippery, in particular to reach the upper channel
