Le Fer a Cheval (Col de Vergio) - Paglia Orba (Voie Normale)

Access to the starting point:
The start of the normal route to Paglio Orbo is the Col de Vergio pass on the D84, or the bend below the pass called Le Fer a Cheval (the horse-shoe). The two variants soon merge into one route. The second variant is described below.

Access from the west: from Porto on the west coast of Corsica, follow the D84 road to the Col de Vergio pass and then continue 4 km further along the road to the Le Fer a Cheval bend, where you park.

Access from the east: from the route of Bastia, take the T20 expressway south to join the D84 at Francardo; or from the route of Corta, take the D18 to join the D84 at Ponte Castirla. Pass Calacuccia and park at the bend called Le Fer a Cheval, 4 km before the Col de Vergio pass.

Path description:
At the small parking lot at the La Fer a Cheval bend, you will see a sign with a map and a description of the Sentier de Radule route. Head north and follow the signs for the Bergeries de Radule hut. The trail signs are light blue. After about 30 minutes of walking, the trail joins the GR 20 (white and red markings). After an hour of pleasant walking from the starting point in the shade of the conifers, we arrive at the small hut of B. de Radule. We continue along a more rocky and less vegetated area and soon cross the river Golo via a bridge. On the other side of the river, at a crossroads, turn left, heading north (but if you want to visit the larger waterfall on the Golo, you can turn right here and after 10 minutes you will reach the Cascade de Radule waterfall and a larger pool, which is also suitable for swimming). The route then follows the course of the Golo. Soon cross the river again and climb along its right bank. The trees are gone, with only low bushes and bright green grass growing along the river. The river is full of small pools where you can refresh yourself. As we slowly make our way northwards, we can see our destination: the two hills at the end of the Golo valley. On the right is Paglia Orba, on the left we see Capu Tafonatu. The GR 20 route approaches the stopping point, which is the Ciottulu di i Mori hut (1991 nmv). We approach the hut on the left side of the valley (in the route of the walk) and reach it after about three hours from the starting point.
The hut is well maintained and always full of hikers. Just above the hut is the spring of the river Golo.
From the hut onwards, orientation becomes a little more difficult. There are hardly any markings, or rather rather few white markings. We head due north, our destination being the notch between Capu Tafonatu and Paglio Orbo. When you reach the notch after twenty minutes, turn right towards Paglia Orba and attack the granite rocks. From here on, the only orientation we have are the few cairns. There is still 1 hour of easy climbing on the red granite rock, which (in the dry) has excellent traction. The route is not protected, it is not crumbly, but it looks for natural transitions between the rocks. During the climb, you can admire the large natural window in the neighbouring Cap Tafonatu. The window is 30 x 12 m. After about 1 hour and 30 minutes from the Mori hut, the summit is reached. There is a simple cross at the top. To the NE we have a view of Monte Cinto, the highest peak of Corsica. Descend along the same path or follow the men straight south to the Bocca di Foggiale pass (an interesting descent along the rope), where you continue towards the Mori hut or continue along the Golo river to the starting point. The return journey will take approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.
Description and figures refer to the situation in 2014 (September).

On the way: Bergeries de Radule (1375m), Cascades de Radule (1400m), Refuge de Ciottulu di i Mori (1991m)

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