Scaffa Cave and Bocca Pastricciola

Park at the entrance to the village of Castiglione in the visitor car park.

(S/E) Walk through the village, going down the steps, then turn right onto the local footpath known as the Terrivola path.
Continue along the path, which climbs gently, until you reach the Funtana di Paduli.

(1) At this fountain, in the chestnut grove, follow the cairns heading off to the left. The path is marked with cairns and is clearly visible, but is not signposted.
You’ll reach a first, very pretty clearing. Carry on, making a circular loop to the right and continuing to follow the cairns. You’ll reach a^second clearing.

(2) From here, tackle a steep and slippery climb.
Note: take particular care on the return journey when descending.
Further on, you’ll reach the junction with the old path.

(3) Continue the ascent, which quickly becomes less steep, to the Cabane d’Alsato.

(4) Tackle the most difficult section here, as the path narrows and is sometimes obscured by prickly broom. Continue to follow the cairns, which are fairly regular. Enter the area of the Aiguilles de Rundinaia. Continue the ascent, passing between the mountain walls. Follow the stream bed to reach the junction with the path to the Grotte de Scaffa.

(5) Cross the stream and head up towards the cave, still on this barely visible and prickly path.
At the cave, continue to the left, climbing towards Bocca Pastricciola, which is visible in the distance, as there are no longer any cairns (no great difficulty apart from those pesky Corsican broom bushes).
Take the opportunity to admire Monte Padru.

(6) Begin the descent along the same route to return to the Castiglione car park (S/E).

This hike is not suitable for everyone due to the difficulty of the path after the Alsato huts (4)
and the complete lack of signposting, or even an IGN route (2).

I strongly recommend wearing trousers because of the stinging broom (this will spare you the frustration of rolling stones under your feet and the broom sneakily scratching you).
Walking poles are also recommended for stability, especially on the descent, which is sometimes steep and slippery.

There are no water sources, so make sure to bring at least 2–3 litres of water per person.

The ascent took me 3 hours 30 minutes

Several possible routes from the Scaffa cave:
- Bocca a la Scaffa on the right: add 15–30 minutes to the ascent
- Bocca Pastricciola on the left: add 15–30 minutes to the ascent
- Cima a i mori: add 1 hour 30 minutes. Do not attempt this if you are not used to steep gradients on difficult terrain, as the descent is just as challenging.

Please note that the routes to Cima a i mori and Bocca Scaffa are visible on OpenStreetMap, as is the entire route from Castiglione.