Corsican Encounter: A Scenic Tour of Corsica by Clive Tully

I’m walking beneath overhanging branches of Corsican Pine, and suddenly I become aware of strange alien-like cocoons of pine needles hanging from the branches. Draped with eerie cobwebs, these things are around the size of lemons, and they really do look weird.

“They are a real problem,” explains my guide. “They’re caterpillars, and eventually they kill the entire tree.” And that’s not all. The caterpillars of the Pine Processionary Moth are quite likely to drop on unsuspecting hikers passing beneath, and give them a nasty skin rash which lasts for around 10 days. Fortunately for me, they remain nowhere to be seen.

A Hiker’s Mecca

The Bavella Pass in southern Corsica is one of those meccas for anyone into hiking. The famous GR20 long-distance backpacking route passes through here, and there is no end of heavily laden hikers taking the opportunity to stock up during their brief stop in civilisation, or put their feet up and enjoy a coffee at one of several cafés, soaking up the stunning mountain views.

But even for a day visitor like me, the Bavella Pass holds some spectacular sights, including the Aiguilles de Bavella, magnificent rock needles, and Le Trou de la Bombe, a natural archway visible as a circular hole in the rock even from a distance.

Corsica is one of those places you have to think twice before you even place where it is. A French island in the Mediterranean, it’s just north of the Italian island of Sardinia. You might think it relatively compact at 114 by 52 miles, but its rugged mountain terrain means that most of the roads through the interior and even around much of the coast are tortuous winding affairs which test your driving, and probably double any estimated journey time.

For some, that’s the attraction. I’ve never seen so many motorbikes as I have here. Not the tinny lawnmower variety, but all big touring jobs. Corsica’s windy roads are clearly a delight for bikers. If you take a car instead, it’s easy and relatively inexpensive to travel on a ferry from Marseille to several ports around Corsica, including Bastia, Calvi and Ajaccio.

Walker’s Paradise

The rugged terrain makes Corsica a walker’s paradise, and even if you don’t go for the tough mountain hiking involved with doing the GR20, there are plenty other things to occupy you. Much of the interior is covered with the scrublike “maquis”, resilient shrubs such as gorse, juniper and myrtle, with scented plants like lavender, thyme and sage lending a distinct smell which assaults the senses.

I take a walk with mountain guide and botanist Stéphane Rogliano, whose speciality is walks with an emphasis on discovering the scents of the maquis. He has a real passion for his subject, and before I know it, he’s taken the flower from a myrtle bush, rubbing it between his fingers to release the scent. “This is the queen of the maquis,” he tells me. And as we climb up to an old WW2 gun emplacement overlooking the Golfe de Porto-Vecchio, he explains the origin of the word Maquis in relation to the French Resistance, who took to the maquis to fight their guerilla war against the Germans.

“The Corsicans were the first resistance to liberate themselves,” he explains, “in 1943. After that, all French resistance became known as the Maquis.”

Unique to Corsica

Although much of it might manifest itself as prickly bushes, the maquis consists of over 2,000 different species of plants and flowers, 78 of which are unique to Corsica. And it’s these which provide the ingredients for many of the world’s most expensive cosmetics. Immortelle, for example, is a small yellow flower whose blooms are distilled into an essence which goes into the very best anti-wrinkle creams. But while a lot of it goes off to the big cosmetics producers, it’s also possible to find local establishments with all kinds of lotions, creams and oils, for sale direct to the public, and at decent prices, too.

You don’t have to go that far from civilisation to find spectacular scenery. I spend one night on the western coast at the Hotel Capo Rosso in Piana. It overlooks an incredible jumble of orangey-pink granite rocks called the Calanques, and just watching the sun set over the sea, its light turning the rocks redder by the minute, is one of those experiences you never forget. You can get up close and personal with the Calanques, either taking a hike along the footpaths which lead you to some breath-taking views, but even following the road by car between towering rock walls makes the Cheddar Gorge pale by comparison.

Renovated Farmhouses

My favourite hotel is somewhere really quiet and out of the way in the rolling forested hills in the middle of south Corsica. In fact, even the website admits “we are difficult to find, but it is worth looking.” The farm guesthouse “A Pignata”, near Levie, is a couple of renovated farmhouses with sympathetic additions offering just 17 rooms in a wild and beautiful setting, and it’s here, I was told, that Kylie Minogue chose to stay for a while after her cancer treatment. The ideal place, without a doubt, to avoid the paparazzi, and fabulous for anyone who wants some real peace and quiet.

The food is mouth-watering, too – all home-made Corsican specialities, much of it organically produced by the farm. Corsica is renowned for its fresh brocciu, a creamy cheese made from ewe’s or goat’s milk, and it seems to find itself into pretty much everything from cannelloni to stuffed sardines. There are some pretty spectacular hard cheeses, too, best enjoyed with fig jam. The charcuterie is famed far and wide, particularly the prisuttu. Chestnuts are widely used, ground into flour and made into polenta and cakes, but Pietra rapidly becomes my favourite tipple, a very tasty local beer made from chestnuts.

Claim to Fame

Founded over 500 years ago, the main claim to fame  of the island’s capital city of Ajaccio is that it was the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. There are several statues around the city, and Casa Bonaparte itself, where Napoleon lived until he was nine, is quite big and grand. Like any museum or historic attraction, there’s a small souvenir shop at the end of the tour, and I was amused to learn that visiting Russians who’ve done Napoleon’s Russian campaign in school feel inspired enough to make a beeline for facsimile busts of the man himself. An interesting addition for any mantelpiece, without a doubt, although if you prefer something a little less ostentatious, you might find the fridge magnet a safer bet.


Further information
Information about Corsica can be found at: visit-corsica.com; information about Corsica and French holidays in general: franceguide.com. Easyjet flies once a week from London Gatwick to Ajaccio: easyjet.com. If you drive, SNCM ferries operate to several Corsican ports from Marseille: sncm.fr. And if you prefer to drive, but without the major mileage at the beginning and end of your holiday, you can crack most of it by taking French Motorail from Calais to Nice, raileurope.co.uk.

Interested in your own Corsican holiday? Check out our listings for luxury hotels in France.