Sainte-Lucie River and Cavu pools

Date of your route : Sep 23, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike that comes highly recommended

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike in mid-July 2025. The first few kilometres are on a wide track with lots of people from the car park where you leave your car to the restaurant near the bridge over the Cavu. But once you've passed this section, there aren't many people around
The water section is really nice. We were able to stay in the river the whole time except at the very beginning where we had to go around, otherwise we would have had to use a slide that ended in a pool, and we hadn't brought any waterproof protection for our phones
The exit from the Cavu to get back to the track isn't easy to find, but luckily there were people swimming who were able to show us the tiny, discreet path to get back up
Great hike!

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Date of your route : Oct 10, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike in mid-October. We set off against all odds in the rain. Rainbow on the climb, then sunshine. A must-do swim in the beautiful natural pools with crystal-clear water. Not crowded at this time of year. Absolutely brilliant!! 😊

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Just read the previous comments BEFORE setting off to understand that you can avoid ALL the trails in this guide:

• By using the PR3/PR3bis trails on both banks of the Cavu between the Adventure Park and the Marion Bridge (or Ranuchjaghja/Les 3 Piscines)
• By walking along a long section of thePR8/PR9 trails, which avoids the ENTIRE outbound trail except for the short final section
• By using the PR8 (circular Lora) to cross Sainte-Lucie and then return to the right bank via the Lora - Funtanedda trail
• The return to the Adventure Park can be made from the Marion bridge via one of the two PR3/PR3bis trails

The combination of all these trails, which are signposted and marked, is a great alternative to the map on this page and should be published on Visorando to replace this map!

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Date of your route : Sep 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A hike to get back into shape upon our arrival in Corsica. The level is relatively easy.
No particular difficulties except for a very unpredictable trail when you're in the Cavu riverbed.
Negative point: a large part of the route is on tracks both on the way there and back... and even if vehicles are rare, it's a far cry from a quiet little path or a bucolic hike.
On the plus side, the section along the Cavu is superb, with crystal-clear, relatively warm water perfect for a quick dip.

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As already mentioned, the route to point 3 (Sainte-Lucie pools) on the map is tedious and uninteresting (tracks) and should instead be replaced by using the PR3bis (Ponti di Marionu trail) from the Adventure Park (or the barrier at the entrance to the municipal car park) to Ranuchjaghja (Three Pools) along the RD du Cavu on a varied and shaded trail. At Trois-Piscines, instead of continuing towards the Marionu bridge, head back up to the car park above to continue along the Sapara Vardata trail (PR9), which shares its starting point with the Ranedda trail (PR6) before the barrier on the left-hand track leading up to the Cavu road. This PR9 trail leads directly to a bend in the side track that descends to point 3 via a superb, shaded route, allowing you to visit the Sapara Vardata rock shelter and avoid the endless stretch of the RD du Cavu track in full sun.
Please note that the A Punta Bunifazinca association has changed the route of trails PR8, PR9 and HR14, which were previously indicated: trail HR14 no longer exists because it has been incorporated into the end of PR9, and trail PR8 has become a circular route (the Lora circular) that can be used for the return journey in this guide! As a result, some of the links in my previous posts are no longer valid: please refer directly to the APB website under the heading Parcours PRx...

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Date of your route : May 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very beautiful hike. Numerous swimming spots in the Cavu.
Note that between the first car park and Marion Bridge, there is a very pleasant path running alongside the Cavu, which is much better than the track.

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Date of your route : Dec 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

Some information updated in December 2023:
- The access trail indicated on foot for approaching Sainte-Lucie and its pools is now closed to vehicles from 15 June to 31 October by the municipality of Zonza/Sainte-Lucie. Only authorised persons (hunters, residents, associations, etc.) are allowed to use it => less traffic in summer and mainly visitors on foot
- The "A Punta Bunifazinca" association has restored a new trail (currently numbered PR9) between Ranuchjaghja (Trois-Piscines with its snack bar) and the descent trail to Sainte-Lucie at a left-hand bend (end of the Sapara Vardata trail). This trail is obviously the one to follow rather than the track from Ranuchjaghja: it is easy, shaded as it runs through the undergrowth almost all the way, marked and signposted (when the signs have not been destroyed by local vandals). It starts at Ranuchjaghja like the circular Ranedda (PR6), which it leaves 200m further on to continue directly 50 to 100m higher in altitude than the track. This path crosses the track 1600m further on and continues with a descent crossing the Sapara Vardata stream and then running alongside the rocky chaos where the cave is located. It is a restoration of a historic section of the old "Chemin de la Montagne aux Plages" (Mountain to Beaches Trail) that ran from Pinareddu to Bocca di Castedducciu, which can be reached (3 to 4 hours' walk) by continuing along the Sainte-Lucie RD (HR14) and then the Finicione RD (HR12) trails!
- From the end of this path, you can either continue straight ahead along the track to finish as indicated on the map described on this page, or take the track on the right and descend via a steep, well-cleared path to find a shortcut to the lower branch of the track along Sainte-Lucie.
- Return by crossing Sainte-Lucie at the end of the lower branch of the track, climbing up a side track on the left bank (cairns), then taking the Lora - San Martinu trail (PR8) which leads back to the Funtanedda bridge, then the Marion bridge. Avoid returning via the Mela/Lora trail indicated on the map on this page: it is long, with little shade and much less interesting than visiting the hamlet of Lora, with its 17th-century caseddi and its remains from the Middle Ages and the Bronze Age, and returning via a trail that passes through numerous carbunari!

Please note that these routes require a minimum level of orientation skills, the ability to read a map and an understanding of the terrain. There are countless lost hikers in the Cavu valley, searching for "natural pools" or trying to follow a Visorando guide without a map and without knowing how to use GPS...

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Date of your route : Jun 23, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

An improvement on the round trip route on the trail from Ranuchjaghja ( Les Vasques du Cavu and Sainte-Lucie stream route).
It is a circular route with the same outward route but returning down Sainte-Lucie downstream from the large waterfall basin.

However, there are a few points to consider:

1. The outward journey via the Luviu side track is still as uninteresting and tedious as ever.
2. If you want to take a shortcut to avoid the circulars on the downhill trail to Sainte-Lucie on the way there, you can use a section of the pretty Sapara Vardata trail (PR9), which joins the trail well before you reach the broken barrier, is marked by sign 9.3 Sapara Vardata and bypasses the first circulars of the downhill trail (for those who can read an IGN map; tracks of the area).
3. Why go back up the Sainte-Lucie road at point 4 and return to the stream at point 5 to cross? Just continue to follow the stream bed between 4 and 5! Or, alternatively, you might as well return to the car park (point 2?) and follow the track from end to end to point 5.
4. After climbing back up to point 6, instead of following the track, it is much better to take the Lora - San Martinu trail, which opens up 100 metres further on to the right (sign 8.0) and leads 150 metres further on to the remains of the magnificent hamlet of Lora with its four 17th-century caseddi, other ruins of medieval caseddi and traces of prehistoric occupation. The trail (numbered PR8 by "A Punta Bunifazinca") is signposted and marked (yellow FFRP) and leads to point 9 (Funtanedda bridge) with a shorter distance and much nicer scenery
5. Finally, we would like to point out that it is foolish to walk the trail from the Marion bridge (on the way back, but also on the way there) to the Adventure Park, when there are TWO trails (PR3 and PR3bis), one on each bank of the Cavu, which offer a much more pleasant route with just the rocky ford to cross opposite the Adventure Park for the PR3 on the left bank.

Finally, in response to some comments about storms: in the event of a storm, even if it is not directly overhead and only upstream, leave the river as quickly as possible and get back onto the trails!
Anyone who has seen what a storm wave in Sainte-Lucie and Cavu and the ensuing flood can do knows the risks of staying too close to the water. Not to mention the flood of All Saints' Day 1993! A quick glance at these images (view them in full screen) will make you think twice about lounging in the water during a storm...

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Date of your route : Jun 15, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

The title and photos are dreamy, yet there is nothing exceptional about it, except for a few viewpoints that are unfortunately quite rare.
The setting is nice, with a slightly Canadian forest feel, but the highlight could have been the ponds. It's a shame that they only represent a tiny part of the walk.
Make sure you wear good shoes, check the weather forecast (a storm arrived without warning despite a fairly good forecast), beware of ants when you stop near the pools (there are hundreds of them and they're very voracious!), and if you want to enjoy the pools, head towards the descent after the bar car park, where you'll be treated to a spectacular view, but not on this hike.

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Date of your route : Sep 11, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

We found the hike disappointing because it follows almost entirely along firebreaks, which are wide, motorable tracks. On the other hand, the scenery is really nice.
But once you reach point 3, when you get to the river and the pools, it's magical. The water is incredibly clear, the pools are fantastic, and there is a small waterfall at point 3. Contrary to the description, you can continue from point 4 to point 5 along the river (in September; I don't know about earlier in the season). The rest of the hike becomes quite monotonous again, but this section along the river alone makes it worth doing.

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Date of your route : Sep 12, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk on 12 September. We didn't meet anyone until we returned to the Marion Bridge, where it's easy to take a dip.👍
We hadn't brought water shoes, so at point 3, after a short break, we joined the small path, because at point 3 there is a slide that is difficult to take with bags and a water hole below.
At the top of the hill, opposite point 3, we went back down into the stream, following a fault line that was easy to descend. From there, we went to point 5 entirely via the stream, barefoot on the rocks, sometimes in the water, but it's more or less fine depending on whether or not you have sensitive feet 🤣🤣🤣 At point 5, it was easy to find the small path that climbs steeply to the left.

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Date of your route : Aug 29, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hello,
If the weather turns stormy, you can make the circular route via a path instead of going down the river. When you reach the beautiful water basin at point 2, go back up to the 4x4 car park and take the path on the left, which runs alongside the river and leads to point 5.
Otherwise, if the weather permits, you can walk down the river from the beautiful water basin to point 5.
There are some beautiful pools and opportunities to swim along the way.

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Date of your route : Oct 25, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Perfect, thank you.

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