Tower of Gargalo

Details of the activity

Visible only from the sea - Scandola

It is known by the names of Gargalo, Gargalu or Gargali according to the maps

After the bay of Elbo which opens the western Corsica territory and as one advances towards the west, the landscape becomes more and more vertiginous and ends in inaccessible islets. At the end of the point, Gargalu is the highest of the satellite islands of Corsica on which is built a square tower.

It is part of the Scandola nature reserve and is dominated by an old Genoese tower, there is also a lighthouse on its western end.

This ruined Genoese tower, occupied by guards until the 19th century, communicated with the soldiers of the Girolata fort to command the entrance to Elbo Bay.

Now restored, it remains inaccessible because it is in the heart of the Scandola nature reserve. The tower, built around the second half of the 16th century, dominates the island at an altitude of 129 metres. Gargalu islet is home to a very fine population of maritime lavaterre, a very rare protected species in Corsica and France, with beautiful white flowers adorned with a dark red heart.

At sea, a sidewalk of encrusting algae marks the water limit on the cliffs battered by the waves: this very original formation is very fragile.

Source: West Corsica