Dente di a Purcaraccia · Bavella · France
Read the cautionsBail with caveatsBolting confidence: medium
An easy friction-slab route up the south arête of a small granite tooth above the Purcaraccia cascades: a slab and corner, a walk, then two pitches of clean, airy slab climbed mostly on your feet, and a scramble to a summit with a huge view. Parties find the grades generous. The approach is a long, beautiful walk past the pools, with a rougher finish through maquis.
Bolted and easy, but the slab bolts are spaced, the abseils snag, the approach is long and a 2024 access restriction on the canyon path needs checking.
The route
The Dente di a Purcaraccia is a small summit of 981 m on the left bank of the Purcaraccia, above the famous cascades and pools. Iznogoud follows its south arête, starting among tall pines at about 850 m. Only three of the five pitches are real climbing, on compact granite slabs where you trust your feet; several parties call it a good first taste of Bavella friction and think the camptocamp grades are a little high. Most people combine it with a swim. The catch is the approach: about an hour on the canyoning path to the top of the big cascade, then cairns across a stream and up a steep, scrubby combe.
The climbing
| Pitch | Grade | Bolts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 5c | – | Slab climbing with the bolts spaced in places, an odd passage past a tree, then a corner. At the top of the corner do not pull on any old block. The first belay sits awkwardly under the platform and is mainly an abseil station; many parties link pitches 1 and 2. A small cam can be placed before the corner but is not needed. |
| P2 | 2 | 1 bolts | A short, easy transition with one bolt, on rock that is better than some guidebooks suggest. A 2021 party notes a chained belay after about 20 m of transition and another belay about 10 m after R3. |
| P3 | 5c | – | A fine, pure slab with passages of pure friction. Magnificent rock. |
| P4 | 5c+ | – | More of the same: an airy slab with a superb view. Parties feel the hardest moves are nearer 5b, with perhaps one harder move high on the route. Often linked with pitch 5. |
| P5 | 3 | 1 bolts | Go left past one bolt, then protect with slings in threads. Very easy, passing above the big eroded face, to the summit. |
Getting there
The D268 links Zonza and the Col de Bavella with Solenzara on the east coast. From Bastia follow the coast road south to Solenzara and turn up the D268; from Ajaccio drive via Aullène, Quenza and Zonza to the col and descend the east side. For this route park at Bocca di Larone, in the hairpin on the D268 just above the pass on the Bavella side, where the Purcaraccia canyon path starts. Camptocamp warns that parking is forbidden there (yellow lines) with tolerance out of season only; 2025 and 2026 parties did park at Bocca di Larone.
1 h 30 to 3 h depending on route finding and swimming. From the hairpin below the Bocca di Larone car park take the path to the Purcaraccia cascades and follow it for a long way. After the first pools and cascades keep left and climb above them on the path with red dots, the normal canyoning approach. Cross above the Grande Cascade (well back from the edge: a walker nearly slid over it in 2021) and continue up the path along a broad rib; allow about 1 h and 200 m of ascent to here. Leave the main path where it turns sharply left away from the rib, at a cairn on a big block near a broken boulder, and traverse almost horizontally east: do not go up. Many cairns lead across a stream and up a steep combe to the foot of the south arête, where tall pines stand at the start. The first bolts are left of a crack.
Loading map
The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.
Parking
Hairpin at Bocca di Larone, start of the Purcaraccia path (camptocamp waypoint 142263); parking restrictions apply
Point from camptocamp waypoint 369753 (Dente di a Purcaraccia summit)
Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.
Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.
Coordinates: 41.83611, 9.26882 (crag) · Parking: 41.83079, 9.27240
Getting down
Abseil the route. Parties describe three abseils: downclimb pitch 5, abseil pitches 4 and 3, downclimb pitch 2, and abseil pitch 1. The rope catches easily on trees and low branches; one party avoided this by passing right of the tree on the second abseil and left of the tree on the last (looking down). Allow 1 h to 1 h 30 for the abseils, then return through the maquis to the cascades and down the path, about 1 h 15 from the pools.
Retreat
Bail with caveats
Abseiling the route is the normal descent, so you can turn round at any belay. The caveats are the ones every party reports: the easy second and fifth pitches are downclimbed, not abseiled, and the ropes catch on trees and branches. Some belay bolts need linking with your own slings.
Safety
Sun and weather
South facing between about 850 and 981 m. Very hot in summer: a late-July 2026 party suffered mild sunstroke on the way down. May, June, September and October are the pleasant months, and a late-August party reported it not too hot. The approach crosses the stream above the big cascade, which is dangerous in high water (inferred from the 2021 near-accident).
Sun on the wall · S-facing
Working out the sunlit hours for this month.
Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season
Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.
Climate figures for Bavella are not available yet
What to carry
Quickdraws (number not stated), slings to link the belay bolts and to thread on pitch 5, and spare cord to replace worn cord on the trees. No source gives the rope length needed for the abseils or the pitch lengths: take ropes that cover full-length abseils. A small cam is optional on pitch 1. Helmet.
Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo
From climbers
Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Iznogoud (Arête S).
Worth knowing
Open questions
Provenance
Same area
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Around 5c+ · about 5 pitches
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Committing
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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.