The Col de Bavella: The Needles of Corsica
Corsica, France
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Aiguilles de Bavella
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300
XP
+100 France
= 400 total
1 day
The Col de Bavella: The Needles of Corsica
300 + 100 XP
The road from the Alta Rocca to the east coast crosses the Col de Bavella at 1,218 metres, under the Aiguilles de Bavella: jagged granite peaks, great rock walls and pines twisted by the wind. The needles proper are the seven towers of Asinau, numbered south to north, climbing from the Punta di l'Acellu at 1,588 m to the Punta Alta at 1,857 m, the highest of them — and only the third, the Punta di a Vacca at 1,611 m, is within reach of an ordinary walker. The granite comes in two kinds: a coarse-grained whitish one that erodes easily, and a hard pink one of tiny crystals rich in potassium silicates that cooled fast.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Park on the wide terrace at the Col de Bavella at 1,218 metres and find the statue of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges standing on its cairn of stones a few metres off the road, with the seven towers of Asinau above you
2
of 4
Follow the GR 20's alpine variant in among the wind-twisted laricio pines towards the Bocca di u Pargulu at 1,662 m, the notch between the third and fourth towers, and stand under the rock walls — the face above the Punta di u Furnellu carries climbing routes 700 m high
3
of 4
Walk up the Punta di a Vacca, the one Bavella needle open to walkers
4
of 4
Put your hand on both granites and tell them apart: the coarse whitish one crumbling under your fingers, and the hard pink one of tiny potassium-silicate crystals. Then find a block of tafoni — holes eating upward through the rock until it looks like a petrified sponge
Park on the wide terrace at the Col de Bavella at 1,218 metres and find the statue of Notre-Dame-des-Neiges standing on its cairn of stones a few metres off the road, with the seven towers of Asinau above you
Follow the GR 20's alpine variant in among the wind-twisted laricio pines towards the Bocca di u Pargulu at 1,662 m, the notch between the third and fourth towers, and stand under the rock walls — the face above the Punta di u Furnellu carries climbing routes 700 m high
Walk up the Punta di a Vacca, the one Bavella needle open to walkers
Put your hand on both granites and tell them apart: the coarse whitish one crumbling under your fingers, and the hard pink one of tiny potassium-silicate crystals. Then find a block of tafoni — holes eating upward through the rock until it looks like a petrified sponge
Before you go
Mountain weather changes fast; the walk to the Punta di a Vacca is rough and exposed in places. The road is narrow and busy in summer, and can have snow and ice in winter.
The RD 268 over Bavella is open most of the year but it is the first road in southern Corsica to shut when it snows: the Collectivité de Corse's own bulletins name the col de Bavella and the route du Cuscione as the two that « restent fermés à la circulation » while the rest of the southern network stays passable, and on Corsican cols in that state articulated vehicles are banned and winter equipment is required. Check the Collectivité's road bulletin on isula.corsica the morning you go, and carry chains between November and March. The walk up the Punta di a Vacca is a rough, exposed scramble with no winter version of it.
Camping is strictly forbidden on the Aiguilles de Bavella site: the cirque is inside the Parc naturel régional de Corse, which regulates access, so do not plan to overnight on the col — sleep down in Zonza or Quenza to the south-west, or at Solenzara on the coast. The two refuges, Paliri to the south and Asinau to the north-west, are walkers' huts, not vehicle stops.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
300 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
400 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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