Monte Astu or Monte Asto is a mountain in the department of

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged wi ...

on the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, France.

Location

The peak is on the border between the communes of

Lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

and

Sorio Sorio (; co, Soriu) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Corse department The following is a list of the 236 communes of the Haute-Corse department D ...

. It is to the east of the D8 road from

Pietralba Pietralba (; co, Petralba) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Geography Climate Pietralba has a mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Pietr ...

via Lama to

Urtaca Urtaca (, co, Ùrtaca) is a commune in the French department of Haute-Corse, on the island of Corsica. Geography Urtaca is located in the north of Corsica at the confluence of the Ostricone and the Fiume di Gargalagne at the foot of -high Mo ...

. It is the highest point of a ridge that includes the Cima di Grimaseta and Petra San Ghiaccu to the south and the Monte a l'Alturaia, Cima a Muzzelli and Monte Ambrica to the north. Another ridge runs eastward through the 1333 Monti di Peru, 1042 A Genucula and 717 Croce d'Aculaghja to

San-Gavino-di-Tenda San-Gavino-di-Tenda () is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Corse department The following is a list of the 236 communes of the Haute-Corse departme ...

. The Fiume di Gargalagne, a tributary of the

Ostriconi The Ostriconi is a small coastal river in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. Course The Ostriconi is long. It crosses the communes of Lama, Novella, Palasca, Pietralba Pietralba (; co, Petralba) is a commune in the Haute-Corse ...

, drains the west of the ridge. Streams from the southeast of the ridge feed the Fiumi Raghiunti, the upper section of the

Aliso River The Aliso River (french: Rivière l'Aliso) is a small coastal river in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. Course The Aliso is long. Its source is at an elevation of . It rises to the south of the Cima di Grimaseta and flows northe ...

Physical

Monte Asto has an elevation of and clean prominence of . It is isolated by from its nearest higher neighbour,

Cima a i Mori Cima may refer to: Acronyms *The Center for International Media Assistance, a media development organization in Washington, DC *Centre International de la Mécanique d'Art (International centre for Art Mechanics), a museum in Switzerland *Channel ...

to the south of southwest. Monte Astu is the highest point in the Tenda massif between Saint-Florent and

L'Île-Rousse L'Île-Rousse (; co, Lìsula, , or , ; it, Isola Rossa, ; ) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. It was founded in 1758 by Pasquale Paoli to create a port that would not be in the hands of the Geno ...

in Haute-Corse. This is a granitic mole partially detached from its mica schist encasement which still remains on its periphery and on its roof.

Hiking

The route to the summit from Lama is there and back, with a vertical of . It is considered difficult, and takes about six hours. The path winds through Corsican

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...

along a marked path past the Refuge de Prunincu to the ridge overlooking the Puleghio ravine. ffA small climb across riprap is needed to reach the summit, not advised for people with vertigo. From the summit there is a beautiful panorama over northern Corsica, including the

Agriates Desert The Agriates Desert or the Agriates (''désert des Agriates'' in French and ''l'Agriate'' in Corsican) is an area of Corsica split between the micro-regions of and Nebbio in Haute-Corse. Geography Location The Agriates Desert is a territ ...

, the

Monte Cinto Monte Cinto ( co, Monte Cintu) is the highest mountain on the island of Corsica, a region of France. Geography The elevation of the mountain is and so is its prominence, making it one of the most prominent peaks in Europe. It is the highest ...

massif,

Cap Corse Cap Corse (; co, Capicorsu, ; it, Capo Corso, ), a geographical area of Corsica, is a long peninsula located at the northern tip of the island. At the base of it is the second largest city in Corsica, Bastia. Cap Corse is also a Communauté ...

and the Tuscan Archipelago. The view includes the eastern plain, the Saint-Florent bay to the north and

to the west.

Gallery

File:Lama-panneau rando Monte Astu.jpg, Hiking trail sign File:Urtaca-Monte Astu.jpg, Urtaca, Monte Astu File:Pietralba-Monte Astu.jpg, Pietralba, Monte Astu to the left File:Monte Astu-1.jpg, Summit

Notes

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astu, Monte Mountains of Haute-Corse