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Corsica - Mountains and Sea

Travel Information
Season:Sundays, May to October.

Arrival:Corsica Local time EST+6 hours. AirFrance offers scheduled service from major US departure cities via Paris(change airports) to Ajaccio Airport. Or fly to Nice and take the ferry across to Ajaccio (SouthernFerries tel: 011 33 20 7491 4968).

End of Tour:The cost of the bus transfer to Ajaccio from Porto on the penultimate day ofthe tour is not included (15 Euros approx/US$20) or from Ajaccio to the Airportfor return flight, by bus which takes approximately 20 minutes and costs 5Euros/US$7.

Level of Difficulty
Grade:The tour is graded Moderate. This self-guided tour is not available forthose who wish to travel singly.

Fitness:The trek is within the capabilities of any normally healthy and activeindividual who takes part in regular hill walking. The route itself is notdifficult, although it is more than just a ramble - there are some fairly roughascents, with maquis scrub to negotiate and sometimes on loose, stony ground.There is one unavoidably long day of around 9 hours average walking time. Theother days are all considerably shorter.

Day stages:range in length from 9.5km/3 hours to 22.5km/9 hours.

Waymarks:the trail is well marked mostly with orange waymarks.

Accommodation & Meals
7 nights are spent in 2 star hotels withprivate facilities as standard. On 3 nights (The first night in Corte, Evisa andon one of the two nights at Calacuccia) evening meals are included in the tourprice. On other evenings (Corte, Calacuccia, Porto and Ajaccio) there are localrestaurants nearby. Picnic lunches can also be obtained from the hoteliers orpurchased in local shops. You will need to take about US$134.00 per person for4 dinners and about US$80 per person for 7 picnic lunches, with an additionalallowance for daytime refreshments. (Drinks are rather expensive: a small beeror black coffee costs US$2.50-US$2.90; a large white coffee can be nearly US$4.00).

Night 1.Corte. A comfortable 2 star hotel in the centre of Corte, all 60 rooms havetheir own en suite facilities, telephone and television. Dinner is included.

Night 2.Corte. Same hotel as night 1 but dinner is not included. There are numerousgood restaurants in the Citadelle end of town.

Night 3.Calacuccia. A comfortable modern hotel outside the village. This is a smallfamily run establishment of twelve rooms, each with its own bathroom. There aresplendid views over to Monte Cinto and Paglia Orba from the terrace bar. (Thehotel has a bar but no restaurant and you walk back into the village for dinnernot included).

Night 4.Calacuccia. Same hotel as night 3. A set-menu dinner is included normally atthe restaurant U. Valdoniellu, 10 mins walk from the hotel.

Night 5.Evisa. This 2-star hotel is normally a favorite on the trek. Evisa is set in spectacularsurroundings. From the terrace restaurant there is an incredible view westacross the Spelunca Gorge and forest, to the sea, and the peak of Capu D'Orto(1294m). Dinner is included in the tour price. Picnic lunches can be obtainedfrom shops in the village. There is a swimming pool (open in Summer season).

Night 6.Porto. Back down at sea level; we stay in this typically Mediterraneansmall resort. Our hotel is just by the harbor front. (If it is full, a suitablealternative is only a couple of minutes further along).

Night 7. Ajaccio.We stay in a comfortable 3 star hotel in the old centre of Ajaccio, locatednear the bustling harbour of the town, the train and bus stations and a beach. The rooms are air conditioned, with en suitebathroom, television and telephone.

What's Included
Transfer from Corte to Sermano, Day 2.Baggage transfers between each overnight destination days 2 to 6. Yourtransfers from Col di Vergio to Calacuccia on Day 4 and from Calacuccia to Coldi Vergio on Day 5. 7 nights Bed and Breakfast. Dinners on Nights 1, 4 and 5are included. (International airfareand all other ground transportation (rail) are not included in the tour price.)

On this Self Guided Tour we provide . . .
1:50,000 scale maps with the whole routemarked; these are used with our detailed Route Notes.

Books & Maps
Walks in Corsica, part of theFootpaths of Europe series (Robertson McCarta, 1990). This includes some1:50,000 maps, which cover part of the route of this trek.

Carrington, D. Granite Island (Penguin) 1984Erudite portrait of the island as shaped by its tumultuous past.

For general reference; The Rough Guide to France,Harrap Columbus. Lonely Planet: Corsica.

Travel books and larger scale (1:25,000) mapscan be obtained from any specialty travel book store.

Escorted Departures

Sun 4 May– Sun 11 May (R&D trip)

ITINERARY

(1,000m=3,281ft. 1km.=0.62miles).

Day 1 Arrive Corte. Fly to Ajaccio. On arrival transfer by taxi or airport bus to the railway station for a scenic journey through the mountains on the old rack railway. Taxi and train fares (about US$20 per person) are not included in the tour price. For example, Train: Depart Ajaccio 14.30. Arrive 16.48 at Corte.

Day 2 Clients are transferred by taxi to Sermano (cost included) to start this day's walk back to Corte. 18km (11 mi)/6 hours. A good warm-up day as we traverse the hills and valleys from Sermano through maquis and chestnut, past a couple of sleepy villages with interesting churches and then descend from a high grassy pass, past cork oak and beeches to Corte, the ancient capital of the island.

Day 3 Corte to Calacuccia. 22.5km(14 mi)/9-10 hours. We pass through the densely-forested Tavignano Valley and over the Col de la Croix before descending to the barraged lac de Croix, and our hotel in the village of Calacuccia. At 850m. This is an unavoidably long day but we hope you will agree that the spectacular scenery provides adequate compensation. Possibility of shortening the walk by using a taxi (between 30 and 40 Euros/ $40 to $53).

Day 4. Calacuccia to Castel di Vergio. 14.5km(9 mi)/5 hours. Via the "chemin de ronde" to the Col de Vergio (1,477m/4,845ft). Today we ascend to the watershed, past shepherds' huts and with views of Monte Cinto (2,706m/8,875ft) the highest peak in Corsica. Transfer back to your hotel in Calacuccia. This trip can be done in reverse if preferred, making it largely a descent.

Day 5 Transfer from Calacuccia to Col di Vergio (or just below) to start walk (cost included). Col di Vergio to Evisa. 9.5km (6 mi)/3 to 4 hours. In the morning we walk down through a forest of Lariccio pine, passing waterfalls and magnificent chestnut trees, to reach the attractive village of Evisa (850m/2,788ft) with its fine views of the valley. In the afternoon we can explore the village, which is famed historically for chestnut production.

Day 6 Evisa to Porto. 13km(8 mi)/4 to 5hours. In the morning we continue our descent of the Spelunca Gorge, to Ota, another picturesque mountain village where we take lunch. Continuing on we arrive at the scenically located beach resort of Porto where there will be time for a swim, a walk up to the old Geonese fort, maybe a boat ride and always time for a great evening meal at one of the seaside restaurants, perhaps enjoying a great seafood dish.

Day 7 Porto to Ajaccio. Morning at leisure in Porto. Take a coach at approx 14.00 hours along the corniche road which winds into and around the Calanches National consisting of impressive coastal cliff formations) to Ajaccio. This is a direct service, which takes approx 2.5 hours. (This is not included in tour price). In Ajaccio, welcome back to a busy cosmopolitan Mediterranean town with an impressive harbour and old winding streets crammed with little restaurants and boutique shops.

Day 8 Departure from Ajaccio. Local bus or taxi to airport.

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