Corsica GR20 Trek: The Comfortable Way
Corsica GR20 Highlights
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The hardest trek in Europe, the comfortable way
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Fully guided trip with luggage support
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Challenging hiking and scrambling
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Swim in natural rock pools
Why Choose Cloud 9 Adventure
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Climb Monte Renoso - a gem
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Off-the-beaten path on little-travelled variants
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Good quality hotels instead of huts
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Visit Porto Vecchio at the end of the trip
Corsica GR20 Trek: Dates and Prices
AT A GLANCE
13 nights
12 days' trekking
Luggage delivery
Group size 4-10
Join: Bastia airport / Calvi
End: Porto Vecchio / Figari airport
ACCOMMODATION
5 nights in hotels
6 nights in gîtes
1 night in a refuge
1 night camping
DIFFICULTY GRADING
10
Extremely Tough
Corsica GR20 Trek: Overview
The GR20 is widely known as the hardest walking trail in Europe. It's a truly spectacular trek that starts in the north of Corsica, and traverses rugged mountains on dramatic paths towards more mellow terrain in the south. Known as 'Fra li Monti' by locals, the GR20 offers a wide variety of landscapes from rocky, steep drops and airy ridges in the north, to greener meadows, lakes and forests further south.
We have created our itinerary with 3 main intentions: to climb several additional summits, to go off-the-beaten track, and at the same time to ensure the trip is as luxurious as possible. We avoid staying in overcrowded and "rustic" mountain huts, and instead we stay in hotels and privately-run gîtes - and our luggage is delivered each day.
Corscia GR20: Is it the right trip for me?
The GR20 is a very tough trek with long walking days in succession. We think it deserves its reputation as the hardest trek in Europe. You must be fit and accustomed to walking in the mountains. There is a lot of scrambling and on occasion we need to use fixed chains and ladders, so it is not a suitable trip for those with vertigo. There are a number of places where there are large drops, so you have to be sure that you are not going to make a clumsy slip. The GR20 is quite a remote trek, and it isn't very easy to "sit-out" for a day if you are feeling tired. As the days are long, we can't afford to go too slowly (as you may be used to doing on other treks). On the GR20 we have an average of 8 hours' walking each day. Some days are 9-10 hours and others are a little shorter - but it does mean that we don't have the option to wait too long. We are not going to go too fast, we just walk at a slow, steady pace without too many stops. Some of the ascents are long, and the descents steep, and these can be problematic for those with sore knees.
Accommodation on the GR20 is notoriously bad. We have chosen hotels and privately-run gîtes which make our trip extremely comfortable in comparison with other companies - but please do not expect luxury! The accommodation is basic, simple and clean.
We don't want to put you off, but we do want to make sure that you will enjoy your holiday, and it is important to be sure you can cope with this trip before you book - so if in doubt, please ask!
Corsica GR20 Trek: Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive in Bastia or Calvi. Overnight in Calvi.
Our trip begins in the seaside town of Calvi. You can fly in to either Calvi or Bastia airports.
Our trip begins with a briefing on Sunday evening in Calvi, and as there is also a good choice of flights arriving on Saturday evening, we anticipate many people will find it easier to arrive on Saturday evening and either stay overnight in Bastia or Calvi the evening before the trip.
We will provide a group transfer on Sunday from Bastia airport to Calvi for anyone who stayed in Bastia or who arrives today: in 2024 this will leave Bastia airport at 15:15 and is fine for any flight arriving before 15:00.
The transfer from Bastia airport to Calvi takes around 2 hours.
It is also worth looking at flights directly to Calvi and therefore missing out the group transfer from BIA to Calvi.
Accommodation: 3* hotel, dinner not included
Luggage access
Day 2 - Transfer to Calenzana. Walk to Bonifatu
We take a short taxi journey to the village of Calenzana, the official starting point of the GR20. Today is an excellent warm-up for the GR20 and gives fantastic views of the coast and the surrounding villages. It is a relatively short day in order to warm up gently, and to allow some time for bathing in rock pools before tackling the final climb to Bonifatu.
Accommodation: Gîte, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: approx 5 hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +800m / -540m
Day 3 - Trek from Bonifatu to Haut Asco
An early start today for a long, difficult but spectacular day of trekking. We climb up into the Cirque de Bonifatu, protected from the sun by forests, until we reach the Carrozzu refuge, where we have a quick break before tackling the famous Spasimata footbridge, a 30m long bridge hanging above a beautiful waterfall - probably the most photographed spot on the GR20! We then use fixed cables and chains to work our way up the Spasimata slabs, to arrive at the Muvrella valley. Muvrella is the Corsican for mouflon (a type of wild sheep), and if we are lucky we might get to see some. After the Lac de Muvrella, we have a steep climb up to the Bocca di a Muvrella (2000m), followed by a short but difficult section to our 2nd pass, the Bocca di Stagnu (2010m). The views from here are fantastic - we can see the western coastline, along with the mountains that guard the entrance of the Cirque de la Solitude. Next up is a very steep, partly scrambly descent down to the old ski station of Haut Asco (1422m).
Accommodation : Hotel, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 8½ - 9 hrs
Altitude gain / loss: + 1480m / -600m
Day 4 - From Haut Asco to the Bergeries to Vallone
Following a huge landslide in June 2015, today's route no longer takes the Cirque de la Solitude. It has been closed by the park authorities, and is unlikely to reopen.
There is now a new route through spectacular terrain. This new route makes what used to be a long, tough day into a longer, tougher day, as we head towards Monte Cinto, the highest peak in Corsica. We reach the remote Lac de Cinto, then continue up to a high pass, the Bocca Crucetta at 2450m. From here we have a long descent to the Tighjettu refuge and down to the Bergeries de Vallone, an old shepherd's hut in a delightful setting, with nearby rockpools for bathing.
Accommodation: Camping (tent provided in-situ, you do not have to carry it), dinner included
No luggage access
Walking: Approx 7 hours
Altitude gain / loss: +1600m / -1600m
Day 5 - Trek from Vallone to Castel de Verghio
Today starts with a very welcome easy stretch of walking through the laricio pine forest, before becoming a bit more scrambly to reach the Bocca di Foggiale, not far from the Ciotulu I Mori refuge and at the foot of the impressive Paglia Orba peak. Great views from here both behind to the Calacuccia lake, and in front to the Golo valley. From here we wind our way down to the river Golo, perfect for a dip in some fantastic rock pools. There is still a fair way to go and we follow the river for a while, before traversing the forest to reach Castel de Verghio, an old ski station, where there is a choice of gîte or hotel, and a small shop.
Accommodation: Hotel, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 6 - 6½ hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +970m / -1020m
Day 6 - Trek from Castel de Verghio to Refuge A. Sega
Today's route is beautiful. It is still a long day, but the scenery starts to change, and we climb up to the Col St Pierre (1452m), and make our way to the spectacular Lac de Nino (1743m). Surrounded by pozzines (little ponds surrounded by grassy meadows), it's an ideal grazing area for horses, cattle and wild pigs. After the Lac de Nino, we stop at the working goat farm of Vaccaja (1621m) before diverting from the GR20 to make our way to the Refuge de Sega. Stunning rock pools make this a delightful location, and being off-the-beaten track we avoid the crowds.
Accommodation: Refuge, dinner included
No luggage access
Walking- approx 8 - 8½ hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +965m / -1200m
Day 7 - Trek from Refuge A. Sega along the Tavignanu Gorge to Corte
A shorter day today enables us to take our time as we make our way down the beautiful Tavignanu gorge, with some great swimming spots, to the historic town of Corte. We should arrive with a little bit of time to explore the town, and we have a free evening tonight to eat out in a local restaurant.
Accommodation: 3* hotel, dinner not included
Luggage access
Walking - approx 5-5½ hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +720m / -1400m
Day 8 - Transfer to Vizzavona. Trek to Capanelle
We have now reached the southern section of the GR20! The walking becomes a bit easier as there is less scrambling, and more opportunity to look at the views. We start with either a train journey or a private transfer to Vizzvona (around 45 mins - 1hr), where we rejoin the GR20 and climb up to the Bocca Palmente (1640m) through shady beech and pine forests, from where we are greeted with fantastic views to the coast and behind us to Monte d'Oro. From here we make our way past the Alzeta shepherds' huts to the U Cardu ridge, and a spectacular view is unveiled, including Monte Renoso, tomorrow's objective.
Accommodation: Gîte, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: approx 6 - 6½ hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +1155m / -715m
Day 9 - Ascent of Monte Renoso. Trek to Col de Verde
Today we climb Monte Renoso (2352m), the highest mountain in southern Corsica. It is a gem of a peak, with most people on the GR20 missing it out. The view from the summit is my favourite view of the trip, as you can see both coasts, plus a great view back to where you have been (Monte Cinto) and to where you're going next (Incudine and Bavella). It is a scenic climb and not too difficult (mainly walking rather than scrambling), with a steep descent down to the spectacular pozzine in the valley of I Pozzi. Next we make our way over to the plateau de Gialgone to rejoin the GR20, where it's a further 1½ - 2 hrs to the Col de Verde.
For those who are feeling tired and who don't want to climb Monte Renoso, you can opt to follow the easier GR20 today: this is also the route that we take in bad weather.
Accommodation: Gîte, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 8 hrs with Monte Renoso, or 5 hrs without
Altitude gain / loss: +815m / -110m or +600m / -950m
Day 10 - Trek from Col de Verde to Cozzano
We start the day with a steep climb up to a high ridge en-route to the Refuge de Prati. The views from the ridge are stunning - we can often see both coasts, and on a clear day we can see across the Ligurian sea as far as the island of Elba. Next up is a section of scrambling, with some exposed sections, until the Col de Laparo. Here we divert from the GR20 in order to avoid staying in overcrowded and uncomfortable mountain huts, and we stop at a privately-run gîte in the typical Corsican village of Cozzano.
Accommodation: Gîte, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 8 hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +750m / -1300m
Day 11 - Trek from Cozzano to Bassetta or Il Croce
We climb up through macquis and chestnut trees to rejoin the GR20, where we reach the Arête a Mondi, which we follow to the Punta d'Usciolu (1815m), the Punta di a Scaddatta (1834m) and finally to the Bocca di L'Agnonu (1570m). The route criss-crosses through exciting notches along the ridge, and consists of around 2 hours of sometimes exposed but straightforward scrambling, offering wonderful views. After this we start our descent, pas the sheepfolds of Bassetta, and continue along to our gîte at Il Croce. It's quite a long day, but continuing to Il Croce instead of staying at Bassetta makes our day a bit easier tomorrow.
In the case of bad weather we travel on a lower route via the village of Zicavo.
Accommodation: Gîte or camping, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 8 hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +1000m / -550m
Day 12 - Trek from Il Croce to Bavella
Today is a long but absolutely spectacular day. We climb up to the Col d'Incudine, from where we have wonderful views back towards Monte Cinto, and also towards Sardinia in front of us, along with the Aiguilles de Bavella where we are heading. From the col it's a very steep descent across slabs to the Refuge d'Asinau. Then a short easy section through the woods, before we make a diversion to tackle the Alpine variant of the GR20, through the heart of the Aiguilles de Bavella, a truly fantastic journey assisted by the occasional chain. Dare I say, my favourite day of the trek. Alas unsuitable in bad weather, in which case we take a transfer and do a shorter walk around Bavella.
Accommodation: Gîte, dinner included
Luggage access
Walking: Approx 9-10 hrs
Altitude gain / loss: +1300m / -1400m
Day 13 - Trek to Conca, the end-point of the GR20, and transfer to Porto Vecchio
The final day is a lovely way to end the GR20, with wonderful views across the granite peaks before we enter beautiful pine forest. We reach the refuge de Paliri fairly early on, and from here the scenery remains rugged all the way to the little village of Conca, the end point of the Corsica GR20. After a celebratory drink, we take a short transfer to Porto Vecchio and our hotel for the night.
Accommodation: 3* hotel: dinner not included
Luggage access
Walking: approx 7 hours
Altitude gain / loss: +700m / -1670m
Day 14 - Depart Porto Vecchio to to Figari airport
Our trip ends after breakfast and we include a transfer from Porto Vecchio to Figari airport. You can choose any flight time and we will book transfers accordingly: it's a 25 minute journey.
Many people choose to extend their stay and have extra nights at Porto Vecchio at the end.
Included
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All accommodation (including tent for 1 night)
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All breakfasts & packed lunches
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All evening meals apart from Calvi on Day 1, Corte on Day 7, and Porto Vecchio on Day 13
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All transfers that form part of the trip
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Single-timed airport transfer from Bastia to Calvi at the start of the trip (optional)
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Airport transfer from Porto Vecchio to Figari airport at the end of the trip
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Luggage transfers on all but 2 nights
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Qualified & experienced International Mountain Leader
Not Included
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Flights
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Travel insurance
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Evening meals on nights 1, 7, 13 & 14
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Personal drinks & snacks
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Tips
Corsica GR20 Trek: Book Online