The climb starts from the Col de Vergio on Road D84. The Col can be reached by car from Porto on the western coast or from Bastia or Corte on the eastern part of the island.

From Bastia and Corte take RN 193 and at Francardo turn into the Golo valley using D84. The first part of the drive takes you through the magnificient Scala di Sta Regina, a beautiful gorge which invites climbers. The road follows the Golo river and in the climbs in a lot of wide turns towards Col de Vergio.

From Ajaccio take the coastal highway D81. It is not very far but the highway winds around and over a lot of bays and passes. Shortly before Porto you have to go through the Calenche. The road is VERY narrow, and since the Calenche is a major tourist attraction lots of coaches use it. So it can take up to an hour to drive the 5km between Piana and Porto! From Porto get on D84 which leads you to Col de Vergio.

Route Description

From Col de Vergio you follow the Val de Radule to its end where you very early on can see both Paglia Orba and Capu Tafonatu. From a farm, the Bergerie de Radule, the trail leaves the valley and climbs steeply in the direction of Col de Maures between both mountains.

At around 2000m of altitude there is the refuge (bivouac rather) Ciottulu di i Mori which can be used for overnight accomodation (bring your own food). The refuge lies on GR20 the great Corsican trecking trail and thus it is alway rather populated around there.

At Ciottulu di i Mori the final ascend starts heading towards the Col then turning right upon the flanks of Paglia Orba. You need to climb some some chimneys and ledges until you reach the western summit. A short descent through a 50m deep trench then leads to the eastern main summit. Enjoy views of Punta Minuta and Monte Cinto.

Essential Gear

Hiking gear is sufficient. However there are a couple of climbing sections. When we reached them in May 2002 there was a rope fixed to the most difficult chimney (before you reach the western summit). I suppose that this has fallen off by now so you might want to bring some short ropes.

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