Cavu Valley - Mandria - Oriu Carbunari

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

Please note that this route follows the PR6 (Ranedda) and Chjassu di I Carbunari trails created in 2016-2018 by the A Punta Bunifazinca association .
The PR6 (Ranedda) route was modified in 2024/2025 and now avoids the steep climb between points 2 and 3. Now, the trail turns right just after point 2 (col 405m IGN) and makes a wide detour to the NW, first crossing the side track a little higher up, then to the SW to rejoin the route at point 4 (new side track crossing).
A beautiful detour around the old climb via a shaded historic path and a new APB path: magnificent carbunara, remains of caseddu, restored old cumpulu, varied and shaded trail, much less steep slopes, etc.

Also note the changes to the Chjassu di I Carbunari: creation of a second branch (supranu, to make a loop with the lower branch suttanu) that can be used after point 8 and, on the branch indicated in this guide (suttanu), installation of a diversion to avoid the steep cable-assisted climb and visit a beautiful carbunara and a cumpuleddu emerging from the scrub!

See the new tracks on the APB website

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Date of your route : Oct 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

i followed the author's GPX track perfectly with my Garmin Oregon 600. The hike is 10.8 km long... allow about 4.5 hours... there are several yellow tracks!!! Be careful if you don't have a GPS. Very beautiful hike, thank you

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Date of your route : Aug 26, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Easy route on the first part along the river where you meet people, but rather difficult on the part that climbs and where you meet no one. The end is long, you feel like you're arriving, but it's just an impression...

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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

route done backwards.
start of the hike a little late at around 10:30 a.m. The sun is already shining brightly.
The climb through the forest is pleasant.
Arriving at the natural pools at the bottom is a welcome reward after a good effort.
magnificent scenery.

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Hello,
A few comments on this route:

• At point 1, I think the description is good (left-hand track leaving the building on the right) and the path is not that inconspicuous on the left before the barrier because there are multiple yellow signs indicating the two routes that now start from here: Ranedda (PR6) and Sapara Vardata (PR9). The problem is that there is no longer a PR6 sign, as it has changed.
• At point 5, to my knowledge, there has never been a chain! The passage is fairly easy...
• Points 6, 7 and 8: the descent is indeed steep and chaotic, but the slope does not offer many easier options!
• At the Carbunari junction to the right, you can no longer go straight ahead and descend via U Cavu: this trail has been abandoned and is no longer maintained (overgrown) because it is too steep and can now be avoided by descending via the Pisciaronu trail (on the left 20 metres higher up)
• After point 8: here you are on the U Chjassu di I Carbunari heritage trail (renamed Violu by the CDC!), which has two branches, supranu going up to the right from the plateau and suttanu going down to the left. The supranu branch did not exist when this guide was published, but it is perfectly possible to take it because the two branches meet towards the end above the Adventure Park (it is a little longer: see U Chjassu di I Carbunari).
• For the suttanu branch, a few changes have been made to avoid a climb with cables destroyed by the wind: the rest of the cable detours to a short climb on the right leading to a superb carbunara and a new cumpulu a little further on. The route on the app should therefore be modified!

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Date of your route : May 13, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A few difficulties along the route compared to the proposed route.
- After point 1, it is not easy to find the path that goes uphill; you have to follow the dotted line on the IGN map. The same applies a little further up, before point 2
- At point 5, the chain has disappeared, but there are no difficulties in passing through
- points 6, 7 and 8: the descent is not easy; good shoes and strong thighs are required
- After 8, be careful not to take the route that leads to Costa di u Pergulu. Further on, shortly before the proposed route branches off to the left to reach the finish, a "detour" has been put in place, taking you quite a long way from the route proposed by the app, but you will rejoin it a little further on. The descent is then easy.

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Date of your route : Sep 07, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Please note that since March 2023, the PR3bis trail on the Cavu road (below the D168a track) is now marked with signs at both ends and at the point where it joins the track, and is fully signposted (yellow FFRP).

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Additional information for summer 2022:

- The PR3bis trail, mentioned in previous messages, on the right bank (RD) of the Cavu from the Adventure Park to the Marionu Bridge is now MARKED but still without signposts
- The easiest way to find it is to follow the track (D168a) from the Adventure Park, pass the coach park and look for the start of the trail on the right 30/50m further on (yellow markings on bushes and stones)

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Thank you for your kind comment!
Obviously, it's best to avoid the route from the start to the Three Pools via the track (dusty, extremely busy, uninteresting) by taking the path on the left bank of the Cavu (PR3) after crossing the rocks opposite the Adventure Park.
Also worth noting is a symmetrical path on the right bank (PR3bis) that we created this year along the Cavu below the track: very pretty, it can be used to reach multiple swimming spots, is barely more difficult and more exposed than the PR3, but has NO SIGNS and NO MARKINGS (for the moment).

The valley is now closed by the local council during the summer season, with a pay car park (€5) just after the Adventure Park and a free shuttle bus to Ranuchjaghja (Three Pools).
This does not affect any of the lower valley routes (downstream from the Marionu Bridge) PRx and Carbunari, but makes access to the middle and upper valley paths (HRxx) much longer. It now takes an extra hour/hour and a half to reach them, or 2/3 hours there and back.
This discourages hikers who set off late or are not sufficiently trained! And it's true that it's rather hellish to have to walk there and back on 4x4 tracks of little interest...
So it's now better to come out of season to do these Haut-Cavu routes!

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Date of your route : Aug 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very physically demanding hike in the heat.
Thanks to philevr for mentioning the trail on the other side of the cavu, which is much nicer than the path leading to the three pools.
So we forded the river over the large rocks... very easy at the end of August.
The trail was busy, but considering the number of vehicles parked... not that busy after all.
There are educational signs about the flora along this trail.

A superb route, challenging... varied, really very beautiful.
We did it in the suggested direction and I'm glad we did it that way. We finished with the Carbunari Suttanu trail, but the last climb "killed" me.
Take enough water with you, don't do what some couples we met did... set off without any ... yes, really!

At the end of August, it was impossible to go beyond the tree-top adventure course by vehicle, as the track was closed... which was a shame because I would have liked to discover other trails starting much further than the three pools, but that would have added quite a few kilometres to the track...
carciara upstream and downstream, Chemin de Paliri, Chemin du Castedducciu circular via Finicione...trails found on corse-sauvage.com... (thanks philevr) It will have to be next time...when we can take our holidays outside the summer season

For your information: Parking costs €5 for the day.

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Thank you for your feedback on this hike!
Here are a few responses to some of your comments:
- You are correct about the 90° left turn on the climb after leaving Les Trois Piscines (snack bar/inn): a trail that did not exist at the beginning has formed and continues straight ahead to join one of the Luviu trails at the reservoir further on...
We haven't had time to properly mark this turn yet. Please note that the track is not marked in yellow, whereas the turn and the rest of the route are.
- The "building" is not a building: it is a "cumpulu", i.e. an enclosure for milking goats, which we have restored (there is a second one further on but a little way off the path).
At this point, the trail ("U Chjassu di I Carbunari") splits into two branches (supranu and suttanu) which rejoin further on before descending to the Adventure Park: you can therefore take either one, but the one described for this hike actually turns left at this point and is more direct...
- The "wood piles" are "stacks" (catasta) that have been reconstructed to show how charcoal was produced in the valley in the past by burning these stacks of wood from the top down
- You could have added that there are missing signs at the top of the first climb from the inn when you reach the Luviu track and follow it for 200 metres before finding a path: four signs have been vandalised and are currently being replaced.

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Date of your route : Aug 23, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very good hike that starts off strong after the inn. Beautiful scenery. Not to be missed!
We would have added two points to avoid any confusion. One a few hundred metres after the inn, to make sure you turn left onto the rocky path. The other is during the descent after a stone building, where you really mustn't miss the change of path on the left. If you continue straight ahead, you'll end up at a pile of wood but not on the right path (even though there is a yellow path, all the paths here are yellow!)

This hike is more than 8.2 km rather than 7 km.

Finally, in terms of difficulty, I would have rated it "difficult" given the climb and descent, which are respectively strenuous and technical at times, especially in comparison to other hikes listed in the same category on the website.

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Thank you for your feedback!
Please note, however, that although you indicate that the description is reliable, it is useful to know that the signposts put up by the "A Punta Bunifazinca" association at the two junctions on the Luviu track at the highest point of the trail (points 3 and 4) have been vandalised since October 2020 and have not yet been replaced!
These signs are numbered 61 and 62 on the association's maps and leaflets (PR6 route with the 1st and 2nd signs in the order indicated on the route).

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Date of your route : Jun 21, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Departure from the car park at 8:40 a.m.: not a soul in sight!
We wisely followed the suggested route: the first part is uphill, and the trail is clearly visible and well marked in yellow (lines and small flags)
Then there's a section where the trail is less clear, but you can easily find your way using the yellow lines and cairns.
The last part is quite steep going down, but it can be done if you're careful. The path has been well trodden by wild boars.
A nice hike, but not necessarily with beautiful scenery to see all the time, as much of it is in the undergrowth (advantage: it's cooler)
Back at the car park: it was full

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To complete this Visorando hike, here is some up-to-date information in line with what I wrote in one of my previous comments (recommendation to use our website for up-to-date information):

• The first part of the route follows the PR6 (Boucle d'A Ranedda), described from Ranuchjaghja (better known to tourists as Trois-Piscines) in a circular manner
• To reach the Three Pools, there are two options: follow the Cavu (D168a) to the car park there (a 2 km track, dusty and very busy in summer with saloon cars and 4x4s) or cross the Cavu at the Parc-Aventure ford and take the PR3 (Ponti di Marionu) path to the bridge, where you can reach the Three Pools via a short section of track
• The end of the route follows the U Chjassu di I Carbunari trail from its intersection with the PR6 on the final descent, 130m higher in altitude before reaching the D168a. This trail takes you back to the Parc-Aventure at the Baby-Park (children). Please note: since 2019, this route has been completed to form a circular and, therefore, from the PR6 intersection, there are now TWO possible return trails. Either the trail described in the Visorando article (lower trail or chjassu suttanu, with the "cables"), which is overgrown, not very open, with numerous carbunari, or the upper trail (chjassu supranu), which is very open, with numerous panoramic views and only 3 or 4 carbunari, offering a magnificent alternative to the trail described in Visorando.

You will notice that quite a few changes have taken place since the publication of this article in Visorando: 1°) The new descent (''Pisciaronu trail'') from the PR6/Carbunari intersection mentioned above, 2°) The new charcoal burners' trail (Chjassu supranu di I Carbunari) parallel to the Chjassu suttanu described in the article, arriving a little higher up on the Pargulu slope before descending towards the Adventure Park.

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