Chjassu Ornitulogicu di Santu Stefanu – Olmeta di Tuda

By car, drive to the Col de Santo Stèfano, the gateway to the Nebbiu, where the start and finish are located.
The car park for walkers is limited to the angled parking spaces around the roundabout between the D82 and the D5; a few spaces may be used near the war memorial at the start of the D5.
This is to prevent vehicles from being left for too long in the shops’ car park, which is reserved for customers.

Markings: yellow paint and cairns
Signage: wooden signs – metal signs – specific birdwatching signs

(S/E) Cross the car park for the shops.

(1) Head up the path that runs alongside the building on the left.

(2) Take the tarmac road through the housing estate for 50 m to the left, then turn right for 30 m.

(3) Continue along the dirt track to the water tower. Please note: remember to close the gate behind you.
Throughout the route, numbered signs with QR codes provide key information on each bird species found in the area.

(4) At the water tower, follow the direction indicated by the ‘San Ghjuvan’ sign and take the path heading due north, to the left.

(5) After a 1,400-metre climb, you will reach the Costa Nuda plateau. Continue to the right, heading north-east. Walk 700 metres along the contour line.

(6) At the sign for the Birdwatching Trail, turn right towards the east.

(7) A signpost and a threshing floor mark your arrival at the Col de San Giovanni at an altitude of 726 m, the highest point of the route. Continue straight on towards the east and follow the track downwards.

(8) At the track junction, turn right.

(9) At the track junction (elevation 482), carry on straight ahead.

(10) Go through the gate and reach a fork in the track that you passed on the way out.

(4) Continue down to the left to rejoin the track from the outward journey, this time heading in the opposite direction. This will take you to the Col de Santo Stèfano (remember to close the gate on the track) via the housing estate and then the shops, before returning to the car park (S/E).

- There are no sources of drinking water or shelters along the route.
- At the Col de Santu Stèfanu (start/finish), local shops offer food and drink

• Discover the local birdlife and learn about the habits of the various bird species that inhabit the area.
• Extraordinary panoramic views at Bocca San Ghjuvà. Views over the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Mediterranean and Cap Corse in particular.
• Along the route:

- During the ascent: panoramic views of the Nebbiu, the plain, the Tenda massif (and further afield, San Petrone), and the Gulf of Saint Florent.
- On the descent back down: unusual and impressive views of the Lancone Pass and the Bevincu Gorges, with a beautiful view of the Étang de Chjurlinu (Biguglia).