Natural space
The port of Bonifacio is located in the centre of the Bouches de Bonifacio Nature Reserve. The largest nature reserve in mainland France, it extends over 80,000 hectares between Corsica and Sardinia. In a landscape of limestone cliffs and granite chaos, the site is home to 37% of the Mediterranean’s remarkable species (grey shearwater, crested cormorant, grouper, tiliguerta lizard, etc.).
There are coastal and marine environments as well as exceptional landscapes: the Lavezzi, Cerbicale, Bruzzi and Moines archipelagos, the Bonifacio cliffs and the Ventilègne ponds.Conserving the heritage of the Bouches de Bonifacio means conserving natural habitats, restoring and maintaining those that are under threat, but also maintaining the landscape and geological integrity of the site as well as working to conserve or restore populations of threatened species.
The Port of Bonifacio is committed to the protection of its environment and heritage, as demonstrated by the certifications it has received.
Sites of the Conservatoire du littoral
The coastline of the southern tip of Corsica presents a succession of remarkable landscapes that are distinguished by their diversity. In an island whose geological framework is mainly composed of granite, the most singular landscape event is undoubtedly the Bonifacian causse: the limestone plateau resulting from the mineralization of sediments deposited at the bottom of a sea that has long since disappeared, overhangs the windy, reef-strewn strait that separates as much as it unites Corsica and Sardinia.
These areas are alive and fragile, so please respect the regulations and behave in a way that is respectful of the landscape, the flora, the fauna and the tranquillity of the area.
Sea caves and millennia-old caves
The geology of Bonifacio is complex.
From the sea, we see the landscape in a different way: like a work of art that unfolds before our eyes, a natural art gallery that fills our senses with wonder.
Come and contemplate the majestic cliffs seen from below, enter the seemingly impassable sea caves, walk along one of the wildest stretches of coastline in the Mediterranean, explore the archipelago of the Lavezzi Islands. Enjoy and help us to protect all these spectacular but fragile ecosystems.
On the one hand, a granite subsoil that resists the assaults of the sea and allows the emergence of islands. And on the other hand, a limestone part, a softer rock than granite, which the waves and time dig tirelessly to form caves of all shapes and sizes.
By boat, you will discover the cave of Napoleon’s hat, also called the cave of Saint-Antoine, which is located at the entrance of the Narrows, next to the Corsican Rudder. Not far away, another natural curiosity, the famous cave of Sdragonato, where you can see an opening in the shape of Corsica when you look up.
Decorated with stalactites, paved with colourful and fishy sea beds, they offer rare moments of contemplation and photography.
For the more adventurous, there is also the “Venus bath” or the circular cave called “l’orca” (the Jar). These are only accessible by jet-ski or kayak!
Paths of Bonifacio
Do you like walking?
In Bonifacio, you will be served: spectacular strolls along the cliffs, ecological strolls in the middle of the scrubland, strolls along the coastline leading to incomparable creeks and beaches. The paths of Bonifacio are accessible all year round, for young and old, so go for an adventure!
Discover also the walks of the South Corsica through the GR20 in Corsica, one of the most beautiful paths of Europe in the heart of the Mediterranean.
Lavezzi Islands
Lavezzu, Cavallo, Ratinu, Piana… are some of the granite islands that make up the Lavezzi archipelago, which has been classified as an Enhanced Protection Zone of the Nature Reserve.
But Bonifacio also has other islets which are not lacking in attractions. Not all are accessible because they are too steep. But their presence in the landscape always makes you dream. Among the 8 islands of the Lavezzi Archipelago, Lavezzu is the one you are most likely to visit. Why? For its turquoise waters, its beaches and creeks, its granite blocks, its wild nature but also because Lavezzu Island is full of history and presents a unique graphic and ecological interest.
Don’t hesitate to follow the paths to discover its 2 cemeteries, its Neolithic rock shelter, its ancient sheepfold, the ruins of the Chapel of Santa Maria, which saw monks from the 10th to the 16th century, its lighthouse, today a base for the agents of the Nature Reserve. Observe sea birds such as the grey shearwater, the crested cormorant or the Audouin’s gull and above all explore the seabed full of life!
While Cavallo is the only one to be inhabited, Piana has the particularity of being reached on foot by passing on a sandbank from the beach of Piantarella which is opposite. A rare experience!
Anchoring is organised here.