Whitewater sports
River rafting has been around for as long as man has been fishing, and the first fishermen were already canyoning.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Verdon gorges and certain canyons in the Sierra de Guara in Spain were descended. It wasn’t until the 1970s that canyoning became a genuine outdoor sport.
The techniques used – rope descents, anchoring and rope techniques – all come from caving. Unlike rock climbing, which involves climbing rocks, canyoning involves descending into a canyon.
Canyoning should not be confused with river water sports such as :
Rafting
The descent is made in an inflatable boat. In Corsica, rafting is limited to April and May, mainly on the Golo, Tavignano and Asco rivers.
Hydrospeed
Hydrospeed, or white-water swimming, involves gliding down rivers, mainly rapids. You wear a neoprene suit, flippers and a floatation board. In Corsica, it’s done in the same way as rafting, when the snow is melting and the current and volume of water are your allies.
Kayaking
This is done in a light ‘canoe’-type boat with a paddle. Kayaking is a highly technical and physical sport. After some winters with good snowfalls, Corsica is the land of choice for European kayakers. The Golo, the Tavignano, the Asco, the Vecchio and the Fiumorbu are some of the most beautiful descents in the world, requiring a great deal of commitment on the part of kayakers.
Water rafting
This is a river descent combining swimming and walking. Unlike canyoning, you don’t need a rope.
Canyoning
Canyoning is a river descent similar to aquatic trekking, but with sections where rope techniques are required. You’ll need a wetsuit and safety equipment (helmet, harness and canyoning shoes).
Canyoning in Corsica
Corsica is a real paradise for canyoning, one of the most popular regions in France. Don’t forget that Corsica is a rock in the sea and is the Mediterranean island with the most water.
The first canyoning facilities appeared in Corsica between 1980 and 1990. Members of the Fédération Française de Spéléologie were very active, and they opened canyon after canyon by placing anchors (plates with a dowel or a pin), often using a tamponnoir (ancestor of the battery-powered perforator, ‘tap, turn, tap, turn, tap…’: a pin that will make a hole in the rock). A dowel would make a hole in hard granite, and patience was required to fix the plate).
Since 2000, most of the canyons have been explored and opened by the Corse-Canyon association, with Frank Jourdan at the helm.
Altipiani (canyon-corte) has opened and equipped several canyons: le Verghellu, le Capelli, le Saut du Curé.
The canyons of Corsica
Central Corsica and its many canyons make it a must-see destination for canyoning enthusiasts on the Isle of Beauty.
There are some of the most popular and beautiful.
The Vecchio, which rises beneath the Monte d’Oro near the village of Vizzavona. Like the Tavignano, it can be kayaked when the snow melts, and becomes our playground during the summer months. The canyon is not technically difficult, but there are some impressive jumps, rocky passages and slides.
The Verghellu rises below Monte Rotondo and flows into the Vecchio, a mountain canyon that is great fun because of its rugged terrain: jumps, abseiling, slides and zip lines.
The Capelli, still in the Verghellu river, but on a different part of the route, resembles the Verghellu, but in miniature. It’s perfect for children.
The Tavignano rises at Lake Nino, a meeting place for Corsican druids on the night of certain moons. The river flows down through granite as far as Corte, then changes rock: we are in schist. It will end its course in the sea at Aleria. We’ve chosen the spot with the most impressive gorge to bring you the adventures of the Saut du Curé.
On the way up to Calacuccia
The canyon de la Ruda, a beautiful gorge in a wild setting with fresh water, jumps, abseils and slides.
La Petra Leccia canyon, also in the Scala di Santa Regina gorge, where the Golo, Corsica’s longest river, flows. The famous ‘bike canyon’, with jumps, abseiling and a magical slide.
Descending south of Corte, we pass the Vizzavona pass.
Bocognano is home to another of Corsica’s famous canyons: the Richiusa, a real sabre-rattler in the mountains, with jumps, abseils and slides. In summer, beware of the crowds…
Head for Porto and the Calanques de Piana,
the Dardu, a canyon that ends in the sea, with jumps, abseiling and slides. A descent through red and pink granite peaks, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A real springtime canyon, come and experience it with the Spuntinu (traditional Corsican snack, the fisherman’s snack is a pure tradition invented by Altipiani) and the return trip by boat to Porto, a unique adventure.
The I Sulleoni canyon, the steepest but also the most beautiful in Corsica, with its 70-metre abseil, is an adventure in itself.
Le Zoïcu, a cool-water canyon in a steep granite gorge, with watery abseils and jumps.
The other great region for canyoning is the Aiguilles de Bavella or Baveda.
Pulischellu is Corsica’s busiest canyon in summer, with jumps and slides in the middle of the Aiguilles de Bavella.
La Vacca is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful canyons in Corsica. With jumps, abseiling and a majestic setting, it’s an experience to be savoured with the senses and the eyes.
The Purcaraccia, hanging basins, abseiling, slides and jumps, under huge walls. See regulations for how to use it.
Heading towards Propriano, we come across the Baraci, a canyon that is both technical and fun, with jumps, abseils and slides.
I haven’t even mentioned the canyons of Cap Corse with the Viula, the Bastia region with the Cipetto, which we’ve renamed the ‘spring canyon’, U Branu, the Macini canyon in the Fiumorbo, etc.
Here is a short list of Corsican canyons. For lovers of this activity, there is an excellent guide by Frank Jourdan, ‘La Corse en Canyon’.
Central Corsica, with its green capital Corte, is a country in the interior of the island. Corte is the island’s largest town, with no direct access to the sea. You’re in mountainous country.
Corte
Corte is a small town in the heart of Corsica. Now the green capital of Corsica, Corte and its region will delight all those who are curious about landscapes and nature activities. The Restonica valley and its Melo and Capitello lakes have made Corte famous. We were happy to let hundreds of cars drive up a narrow mountain road, paying tribute to the municipality so that they could park alongside the road, take a selfie at the Grotelle sheepfolds, go as far as Lake Melo to take a second selfie and come back down having ticked the ‘Things to do in Corte’ box. Luckily, our Tower of Babel, which was held up by a tiny bridge, was swept away. Today, the Grotelle sheepfolds are a 2-hour walk from the last bus stop, the only one authorised to drive in the middle part of the valley. Today we need to reinvent ourselves, and Corte has everything to offer. A perched citadel that we call ‘the eagle’s nest’, built in the eighteenth century, with the first stone laid in the fifteenth. The citadel overlooks the Tavignano and Restonica valleys, while keeping a watchful eye on the plain leading down to Aléria. You can visit the anthropological museum of Corsica, built at the foot of the citadel. Corte is an old town just waiting to tell its stories, and you can discover part of its history by taking part in the treasure hunt organised by Altipiani. Corte has had a university since 1981. The Restonica valley offers family and mountain hikes to Monte Rotondo, sheepfolds on the Alzo plateau, a wild river for swimming and cycling tours. The Tavignano valley with its swimming and hiking trails as far as the Rossolinu footbridge. Climb up to the Arch of Corte, the Arcu di Scandulaghiu. Climb the cliffs of Ortale, Altipiani, Tuani, Sorbellu, Monte Leonardu… Climb the major routes, Candela di l’Oro, Ombre et lumière, Tafonissimo. Climb via cordata at the Restonica and Tafoni sites. You can also go canyoning on the Verghellu or the Tavignano. After a busy day, the hotels are there to welcome you and the restaurants are generally of a high standard throughout the city of Paoline. Corte, the green capital of Corsica.
Corte is ideal for exploring and discovering its authentic surroundings.
Bozio
Bozio, the birthplace of paghjelle, the traditional Corsican song. Small, winding roads criss-cross the region, looking southwards. The hillsides are dotted with villages, most of which have remained in their ‘original’ state. The views of the inland mountain range are dazzling. You are at the heart of Corsican history. It was in Bustanico that the revolt against the Genoese was sparked off, leading to Corsica’s declaration of independence under Pasquale Paoli. Today, the canton of Bustanico comprises 24 communes with a population of around 1,600.
In Tralonca, one of the villagers killed the priest, who was very unhappy that the priest had said mass without him. A curse has fallen on the hamlet of Zucarelli: a plague of ants has made life impossible. The inhabitants are forced to move.
A walk from Tralonca or Santa Lucia di Mercurio will take you to the abandoned hamlet below the point of Tomboni.
Other villages in the Bozio region include
Sermano and its church,
Alando, where Sambucucciu d’Alandu, one of the protagonists of the anti-feudal revolt of 1357, was born around 1300,
Bustanico for its honey and its revolt,
Erbajolo and its Franciscan convent…
The Venacais
This is the region of pastoralism, flocks of sheep and producers of the famous Vénacais cheese.
Venaco, a village located at the foot of Monte Cardo, offers some great walks in the Cervello forest and its Laricci pines, all the way to the summit of Monte Rotondo and the Verghellu canyon. Don’t miss the botanical trail or the walk through the dragon’s cave, where the dragon of the Apocalypse is locked up. Above all, don’t open the three doors.
Saint-Pierre de Venaco and the hike to the chapel of Sant’Eliseu. Its thousand-year-old chestnut tree and Romanesque church.
Casanova with its Heritage Trail.
Vivario with its national forest of laricio pines and beech trees. Monte d’Oro, which dominates the commune at an altitude of 2,389 m. The Eiffel railway bridge, a metal girder bridge built in 1894 that spans the Vecchio river, the old arched road bridge dating from 1827 and the new pre-stressed concrete road viaduct completed in 1999. To be perfectly honest, one pier of the bridge is in the commune of Venaco and the other in Vivario. The view from the Pasciolo fort, built in the 18th century and now a prison. Its ‘aqua bullita’ fountain, which lets hot water flow in summer and cold water in winter, and which turns water into wine…
Other villages include Casanova, Riventosa and Poggio-di-Venaco.
Le Vezzani.
Charcuterie and cheese, you’re on the slopes overlooking the Bozio, you’re on the shadow side, the Umbria in Corsica, the ubac or the reverse in other regions.
A few villages: Rospigliani, Noceta and Muracciole, bordered by two rivers famous for canyoning and kayaking: the Tavignano and the Vecchio.
Noceta and its church with its soaring bell tower, and its walks in the Padule forest. The village is crossed by a variant of the Mare a mare Nord (from sea to sea) which runs from Moriani on the east coast to Cargèse, a village founded in 1676 by Greeks fleeing the Turkish invasions.
Rospigliani hosts the famous wood festival every summer.
Vezzani is surrounded by forests of chestnut, holm oak and laricio pine. Its cast iron Three Graces fountain dating from the 19ᵉ century. Its hikes up to the Col de Foce. ‘À la Casetta di u legnu’, the wood museum.
