Corsica: The GR20 North

Excellent physical fitness is required: you must be well trained and able to sustain continuous exertion over several days. Substantial experience of the activity and regular practice are essential. For hikes involving 6 to 9 hours of walking per day, sometimes more! Frequent sections away from marked trails. Elevation changes of more than 1000m per day; mountain trekking experience is essential. Hiking over rocky terrain. Numerous fairly steep ascents, sections along ridges, away from marked trails and over rocks. Snow-covered passes early in the season. The main difficulties are the length of some stages and the nature of the terrain. One stage includes sections equipped with a handrail on Day 6. Map-reading skills, a good sense of direction and a basic understanding of mountain weather are essential.

By booking the self-guided GR20, you acknowledge that you are capable of walking for 7 to 10 hours per day with substantial elevation changes.

Without luggage transfers: you carry your personal belongings for the week (between 8 kg and 10 kg).
With partial luggage transfers: a support vehicle transports your main luggage, which you will have access to on Days 1, 4 and 6. For the nights of Days 2, 3 and 5, you will need to carry your sleeping bag and some of your personal belongings for the night.

Minimum 2 people.

7 days, 6 nights, 6 days of hiking.

Choose your departure date from June to mid-September.
Departures every Sunday (with partial luggage transfers), every day (with luggage transfers).
During the first week of June, there is snow on the route. Some stages cannot be completed. We recommend starting after 15 June.

This is a self-guided trip, without a guide; we provide a digital travel pack that includes access to our smartphone navigation app, a list of your accommodation, any vouchers required and all the information you need for your trip to run smoothly.
If you wish, we can send a printed travel pack to your home, including maps, a route guide and a travel wallet, for a supplement of 35 € per pack. For printed travel pack requests made less than 45 days before departure, and for travellers living abroad, the pack will be available at the first hotel of your stay.

Accommodation

Accommodation on the GR 20 is basic, even rustic. You will generally sleep in shared dormitories in mountain huts managed by the PNRC or in private shepherds' huts. We increasingly favour accommodation in tents (which you may sometimes need to put up and take down yourself) to address overcrowding.
Like the ageing mountain huts, washing and toilet facilities are often extremely basic (cold-water showers, or even washing in a river, and no toilets). Nevertheless, we select our accommodation to ensure that you can have a hot shower as often as possible and enjoy a minimum level of comfort.
You must bring a sleeping bag (comfort temperature rating 0°C) and a sleeping bag liner.

Le Vizzavona Hôtel in Vizzavona ® Le Vizzavona Hôtel

Please note: accommodation photos are for illustration only. Accommodation may change. Depending on availability, we may book other hotels offering an equivalent standard and level of comfort.

Bedbugs

Bedbugs have appeared in recent years. Despite pest control treatments, you should check your accommodation by inspecting the bedding and avoiding placing your bag on the bed throughout the route. If you wish to take extra precautions, we recommend bringing a suitable insecticide (e.g. Clako punaises).
At the end of your hike, if you have encountered bedbugs, we recommend putting all your clothes in bags (water-soluble bags are available) before machine washing them. This precaution helps prevent and reduce the risk of spreading bedbugs to other accommodation and your home.

Meals

Full board is provided throughout the route and consists of:

• Continental breakfast (tea, coffee, milk, butter, jam and cereals)
• A hot evening meal prepared by your accommodation, generally using local produce
• A picnic lunch eaten along the route and prepared by your accommodation (you must bring a 0.8L plastic container to carry your salads)
• Drinks are not included
• Trail snacks are not included. We recommend bringing some snacks suitable for physical activity (dried fruit, cereal bars)

Please let us know about any food allergies or special dietary requirements when booking; we will do our best to adapt your meals.

Water treatment

The island has many springs along the trails and fountains in the villages. As we cannot guarantee that this water is safe to drink, we recommend treating it chemically using water purification tablets.

Start

On day 1 at your accommodation in Vizzavona.

Finish

On day 7 at around 18:00 in Calvi, after your transfer from Bonifatu at the end of the hike.

If you arrive via Bastia or Calvi, plan to arrive early in the morning so that you can take a bus or train to Vizzavona.

By plane

4 airports in Corsica: Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte, Bastia Poretta, Calvi Sainte Catherine, Figari Sud Corse. More information on Visit Corsica.

By train

The Corsican Railways network.

By ferry

Ferry companies:
* Corsica Linea: 0825808880 - ports of Ajaccio, Bastia, Île-Rousse and Porto-Vecchio from Marseille
* Corsica Ferries: ports of Ajaccio, Bastia, Île-Rousse and Porto-Vecchio from Toulon, Nice, Sagone and Livorno (Italy) - serves Sardinia and the island of Elba from Corsica and Italy
* La Méridionale: 0970832020 - ports of Ajaccio, Bastia and Propriano from Marseille

* Sailcoop: A crossing option with a carbon footprint close to 0, thanks to our new partner Sailcoop, which offers crossings from Toulon to Calvi or Calvi to Toulon (240 € / per person per crossing: including a cabin berth and meals during the crossing). Departures daily from 15/06 to 15/09 and every 2 days during the rest of the period. The crossing takes between 20 and 24 hours. If you are interested in this option, please contact us for further information.

By car

You can plan your route on ViaMichelin.

Parking your car

Unattended paid municipal car parks: Parking du Port, Parking de la Citadelle.
Unattended free car park: RN197 Route de Bastia, opposite Super U.

Public transport in Corsica

Bus routes:
Calvi, Ponte-Leccia, Bastia bus route: Les Beaux Voyages buses (0495651135)

A number of our trips offer opportunities to swim, either along the day’s route or at the end of the day. It would be a shame to miss out. However, we stress that you alone must decide whether it is appropriate to swim; you therefore swim under your own responsibility and at your own risk.

Member of Agir pour un Tourisme Responsable (ATR)

Since 2012, Grand Angle has been a member of ATR, the leading association for more responsible tourism. We design our trips – on foot, by bike and on snow – to invite everyone to discover the world differently: with curiosity, respect and kindness.

As members of the board of directors since 2018, we actively help the sector adopt more meaningful practices. In practical terms, we focus on:

• Transparency in our practices and prices
• Respect for our partners and local communities
• Protecting the environment on every one of our trips

We also share the values of the traveller’s ethical charter, which encourages everyone to take simple steps to protect the places they visit and enjoy meaningful encounters.

Travelife Partner

Since 2025, Grand Angle has been recognised as a Travelife Partner, an international label that certifies our responsible environmental, ethical and sustainable management practices, both within our company and in our work with partners and the organisation of our trips.

This label, the second level of a rigorous international certification scheme, recognises our practical actions in support of responsible tourism. We are actively working towards the next level, Travelife Certified, in accordance with our sustainable development policy

For carrying your belongings

• A small, comfortable 40 to 50 L backpack with a hip belt to carry your personal belongings and picnic lunch during the day
• A bag for luggage transfers: a backpack, a travel bag in good condition or a suitcase that is not too bulky. For logistical reasons, we ask you to limit the weight of your bag to 10 kg 12 kg, with only one bag for luggage transfers per person.

For hiking

• Mountain boots with ankle support, a well-treaded sole, a supportive heel counter and good waterproofing
• Comfortable hiking socks (at least 3 pairs)
• A fleece
• Comfortable walking trousers (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Shorts, T-shirts and technical underwear (quick-drying fabric)
• A long-sleeved shirt (quick-drying technical fabric)
• Walking poles (telescopic), very important for making walking easier

Note: synthetic technical clothing performs very well. New merino wool clothing is also available; it performs very well, is comfortable to wear and has the advantage of resisting sweat odours! (Brands include Icebreaker, Ruka, etc.).
As a general rule, avoid cotton, which makes you cold when wet.

For your lunchtime picnic

• A plastic bowl, container or plate
• Cutlery (spoon, fork, knife)
• A water bottle with a capacity of at least one litre (required); an insulated flask for winter
• Water purification tablets

For protection from sun and rain

• Sunscreen (high protection) and sunglasses
• A hat, cap or bucket hat
• A rain poncho or Gore-Tex jacket, and possibly Gore-Tex trousers

After your walk

• A pair of running-style trainers for the evening
• A change of clothes and underwear
• A sleeping bag liner
• A toiletry bag and a small towel
• A small first-aid kit: personal medication, Elastoplast, Biogaze or “2nd skin”, gauze, antiseptic, arnica pellets and aspirin for minor aches and injuries… (quite a list! But rest assured, the first-aid kit often comes home untouched after your week of hiking)
• Remember your swimwear, as there are often opportunities to swim

For sleeping

• A good-quality sleeping bag (comfort temperature 0°C).

For nights spent bivouacking, we provide the necessary equipment (tent and sleeping mat). If you have an inflatable mattress such as a Therm-a-Rest, we recommend bringing it along.

• Earplugs
• A sleeping bag liner (a sewn sheet)

Country: France
Capital: Paris

Corsica

Area: 8748 km2; Length: 183km; Width: 83km; 1000km of coastline.
12km from Tuscany and 160km from Provence.
Corsica is surrounded by islands and islets such as Elba and Capraia.

• Crystalline Corsica: this covers most of the island and includes its highest peaks, aligned along a north-northwest to south-southeast axis. These include the volcanic rhyolite massif of Monte Cinto, which is also Corsica’s highest point at 2710m, the granite massif of Rotondo and Monte d’Oro. Further south, the Bavella Needles form some of the island’s most distinctive and rugged terrain, ending at the southern tip with the unusual jumbles of granite boulders on the mountain of Cagna. Finally, in the northwest, extending from the Cinto massif, the Calanche de Piana merge into the sea.

• Alpine or schistose Corsica: this occupies the northern and eastern parts of the island and is characterised by gentler, lower slopes than the central mountain range. Cima di Follicie is the highest point on Cap Corse, at 1322m, rather than Monte Stello (1307m), as guidebooks so often mistakenly state. Further south, Castagniccia, a fertile region rich in chestnut woodland, includes the San Petrone massif.

• The central trough: forming the boundary between alpine and crystalline Corsica, this central depression runs from Île-Rousse to Solenzara via Corte.

• The eastern plain: extending from Bastia to the mouth of the Solenzara River, this area consists of alluvial deposits that have formed lagoons such as Biguglia.

• Limestone Corsica: one of the most distinctive features of Corsica’s geology is its limestone outcrops. Although small in extent, these areas are nonetheless remarkable. Examples include the cliffs of Saint-Florent and Bonifacio.

Travel documents

Travellers, including children, must hold a national identity card or passport (EU nationals).

Health

Bring your Carte Vitale health insurance card and your usual medication for the duration of your stay.

Tourism in Corsica
Ajaccio Tourist Office
Address: 3 boulevard du Roi Jérôme – 20000 AJACCIO – 0495515303

For additional nights in Calvi:
Hôtel du Centre (HT): 0495650201
Hôtel Christophe Colomb **: 0495650604
Hôtel le Grand Hôtel ***: 0495650974
Hôtel La Villa **** luxury: 0495651010

France: +33.

No time difference: GMT +1.

Corsica is a mountain in the sea. Its average elevation is 568 metres, and more than a hundred peaks rise above 2000 metres. The GR 20 follows much of this 180-kilometre mountain spine. The Corsican massif is one of France’s six mountain massifs, and receives a substantial amount of snow each year. Part of the GR 20 may still be covered in snow in June. Mountain weather conditions can change considerably throughout the day. Wind and rain can cause temperatures to drop very quickly. Thunderstorms are frequent, and snow in June is not uncommon. You should therefore set out with suitable equipment (see what to pack in your luggage).

• GR20: Corsica at Heart, François Desjobert, Éditions Desjobert
• The Great Trail: All the Stages of the GR20, by the PNRC (Albiana)

General works – tourism – gastronomy

• Corsica, by A. and F. Rother (Arthaud) - Blue Guide to Corsica (Hachette) - Practical Guide to Corsica, by Olivier Jehasse (Éditions de la Marge, Ajaccio)
• Good Corsican Cooking, by Christine Schapira (Éditions Solar)

Geography – nature

• Corsica Regional Natural Park: Plants and Flowers Encountered, by Marcelle Conrad - Rocks and Landscapes of Corsica, by A. Gauthier (Regional Natural Park and BRGM)

History – archaeology – art

• History of Corsica, by Michel Vergé Franceschi (Éditions du Félin) - Traditional Arts of Corsica, by Loviconi (Edisud)

• IGN TOP25 maps, at a scale of 1/25000: 4251OT, 4250OT
• Didier Richard map at a scale of 1/50000: Corsica, the GR20 (pocket format)

Wildfires and mountain area closures
From mid-June to mid-September, access to certain mountain areas may be dangerous, depending on weather conditions. Mountain areas may be closed to the public at any time of day if the risk is severe.
The prefecture publishes a map, updated at 18:00 for the following day: visit the website.
If a mountain area is closed, we will do everything we can to inform you and work with you to find a solution so you can reach your next accommodation.
Remember: from 1 July to 30 September, lighting fires and smoking are prohibited in forests, maquis scrubland and mountain areas.