Why this ride
Sustained elevation change, linked bends and open summit views. It also links naturally to Aiguilles de Bavella.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Corsica Bavella and Alta Rocca
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 77 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 28
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Access context
Check mountain-pass openings, low-emission zones and local restrictions. Specific flag: narrow roads; weather.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Scenic road chapters
Corsica Bavella Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 20 km this is Corsica Bavella Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
- Named road
- Corsica Bavella Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Porto-Vecchio
Porto-Vecchio sits on a deep bay in the south-east of Corsica, and it is one of the island's most prosperous and cheerful towns. The Genoese founded it in 1539 on a hill above the sea, building a walled citadel to defend a harbour whose marshy shores bred malaria, and for centuries, it was a lonely, unhealthy outpost. Now the swamps are drained, the old town is lively with restaurants and shops, and the surrounding coast has some of the best beaches in the Mediterranean. Palombaggia and Santa Giulia, a short ride south, have white sand, turquoise water and pine trees, and they get very crowded in July and August.
Read the complete Porto-Vecchio write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Porto-Vecchio sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Zonza.
2. Zonza
The road from Porto-Vecchio to Zonza climbs out of the humid coast into another Corsica, one of chestnut and pine, granite and cold streams. Zonza lies at about eight hundred metres in the Alta Rocca, a small village of fewer than two thousand people scattered across a ridge, with the great granite needles of Bavella standing over it to the north. The coast is only twenty kilometres away, but the altitude, the air and the sense of space make it feel much further.
Read the complete Near Zonza write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Zonza comes up 22 km in. Next is Propriano.
3. Propriano
Planning note
77 km in you reach Propriano.