Scandola Nature Reserve

The Scandola peninsula, on the west coast of Corsica, is what remains of an ancient volcano that collapsed into the sea. The result is one of the most dramatic stretches of coast in the Mediterranean: sheer cliffs of rust-red and purple rock, columns of volcanic stone standing like organ pipes, sea caves, arches, and needles of rock rising out of water so clear that the seabed shows many metres down. Red granite glows in the late afternoon sun above slopes of dense maquis.

The reserve was created in 1975 and was among the first in France to protect both land and sea together. It covers a little under 20 square kilometres, roughly half of it marine, with a strictly protected core at its north-western tip. Its value for scientists lies partly underwater: calcareous algae build pale ledges along the waterline, and deeper down coral formations and seagrass meadows shelter a wealth of fish and invertebrates. On land, the cliffs hold dozens of endemic plants and give nesting room to ospreys, shags, peregrine falcons and gulls. Scandola was once a last refuge in Corsica for the Mediterranean monk seal, which has since vanished from these waters.

In 1983 Scandola was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Gulf of Porto, the Calanches of Piana and the Gulf of Girolata. The island of Gargalo, the largest islet off the peninsula, carries a Genoese watchtower. There is no road into the reserve: it is seen from the water, on boats that slip along the cliffs and into the coves, and the landscape is at its most vivid when the light is low.

Getting there

The reserve can only be visited by sea. Boat excursions leave in season from Porto, Galéria and Calvi, and also from Sagone and Cargèse further south. The nearest airport is Calvi Sainte-Catherine (CLY), about 27 km away in a straight line; Ajaccio is roughly 50 km to the south-east.