Spelunca Gorge

This superb gorge walk (on the Mare e Monti route) between Evisa and Ota, inland from Porto on the north-west coast, is one of Corsica’s finest day walks, and that is saying something.

You can walk it either way, but downhill from Evisa is easier, unless you hate downhills!

 After a gentle stroll down Evisa's main street, you turn right by a large tomb onto an ancient mule track. A 600m+ descent gets you to the river at 240m, often on fine old paving and some embanked switchbacks, and often hidden in the forest, which breaks up in places to bushy maquis. Viewpoints open up of huge, broken, pink cliffs receding to distant summits of 1,300m or more.

The gorge bottom walk is a delight, shady old paths always enlivened by the rushing river. There are superb swimming spots near the three sets of bridges, the last a slender Genoese effort of sublime grace.

Thence it is a good and reasonably gentle climb to hillside Ota, with its remarkable view across the river to a vast bowl of dramatic cliffs and towers. A perfect lunch spot is Chez Felix with its terrace views.

A short and easy alternative is to walk the gorge bottom from the road bridge to the old Pont de Zaglia in the gorge-bottom forest – and back again. 2hrs or so.

Note: beware of notorious summer thunderstorms, get away from risk areas if one approaches.

Key book: Cicerone’s Walking in Corsica. Find these and other books on Amazon.

SEE OUR CORSICA PAGE FOR DETAILED GENERAL AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION.