TOPO
Zoïcu stream, Soccia
Deep in the mountains, the Zoïcu stream winds around the village of Soccia and offers a varied descent, with numerous obstacles and plenty of water in the middle of summer. If you organize yourself to avoid the many groups that frequent the area, you can enjoy 3 hours of jumps and abseils alone in a beautiful aquatic setting. A beautiful, steep-sided section with a succession of waterfalls and diversion bays, including a huge rusty rail, undulating and shaped by natural forces - a real work of art. Definitely one of Corsica's must-do canyons.
Technical summary
Type ✦ Water canyon
Location ✦ Soccia
Region ✦ Corse du Sud
Country ✦ France
Length ✦ 4500m
Vertical rise ✦ 360m
Difficulty ✦ v3-a3-III
Max abseil ✦ 22m
Duration ✦ 6h to 7h
Interest ✦ ★★★
Access to the place
On the road from Ajaccio to the Col de Vergio, turn east at Vicco towards Murzo, then climb to the village of Soccia. Continue towards Lac de Creno. The road winds up above the village to a large parking area. This is the starting point for the approach.
Itinerary description
Hiking to the start 20'
Quick and easy. Follow the track past the parking lot, past the large cross, and follow the torrent to the right, without any real difference in altitude, until you reach the small bridge over it. Descend here to rejoin the torrent.
Course 4h
Zoïcu or Ziocu? The 2 spellings are found on different sites, apparently depending on whether you choose the Italian or Corsican version?
With a vertical drop of 350m and a descent of almost 2 km, the Zoïcu canyon is a reasonable size. Numerous abseils, including several under waterfalls. Some nice jumps too. You'll need a 2x30m rope to get you through, and a wetsuit is compulsory.
It starts with a series of small jumps to unclimb and jump into pretty green basins. Then, after a ten-minute walk in the bed, the 1st obstacle.
Abseil 1 (5m), a small abseil in a narrow couloir, immediately followed by abseil 2 (8m), reached by climbing to the right over a handrail (jump possible). Further on, after another descent, you reach the most interesting part.
Abseil 3 (20m) under a waterfall, followed after a swim by abseil 4 (17m), which opens onto a large basin. A little further on, we pass a bend encumbered by 2 large boulders, where we find the corrugated SNCF rail.
Abseil 5 (13m) just after the rail, then quickly after abseil 6 (5m) which gives access to abseil 7 (17m), more open over a large basin. This is followed by a step transition and a possible exit to the left (cairn).
Further down, we find abseil 8 (19m) inclined on a wide slab, forming a slide in the middle. And then, fairly quickly, rappel 9 (13m) on a tree to the left. There's still a lot of walking to be done, with a few de-escalations, until we reach a large, final basin where we can de-equip.
Back
After the last basin, walk 30′ along the bed to the footbridge. Then climb left over the footbridge and take the marked path which, after a left-hand hairpin bend, leads to the village of Soccia. Stop to return to the parking lot.
Map & topo
Photos
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