Isolated at the mouth of the Golfe de Valinco, CAMPOMORO, 17km southwest of Propriano, ranks among the most congenial seaside villages on the island. The main attraction here is a two-kilometre-long beach, overlooked by an immense and well-preserved Genoese watchtower. In late July and August, it's swamped by Italian families from the adjacent campsites, but for the rest of the year Campomoro remains a tranquil enough place, with barely enough permanent residents to support a post office.Another incentive to venture out here is the wild and windswept stretch of coast south of Campomoro, which is punctuated by outlandish rock formations and a string of empty pebble beaches. The absence of a road into the area, recently designated a regional nature reserve, means the only way to explore it is by boat or on foot, via the waymarked coastal path that begins below Campomoro's watchtower. From here, the path is easy to follow for the first eighty minutes or so as it threads through a series of dramatic granite outcrops, eroded into phantasmagorical shapes. But once you hit the anse d'Eccia, a sandy bottle-necked cove, the going gets tougher. Determined, well-equipped hikers can walk all the way to Tizzano, 20km down the coast, via the much photographed Senetosa Tower, but to do so it's essential to take along a detailed map, plenty of fresh water and camping equipment in case you get lost. For additional route advice, contact the owner of Grand Bleu boat trips at his caravan near the tourist office in Propriano (tel 04.95.76.04.26). He takes customers to anse d'Eccia by catamaran, and provides photographs to help you follow the trail back to Campomoro; the cost of this half-day trip is €25.
Pages in section ‘Campomoro’: Practicalities.
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