GR20 | GET INFORMED
Are you thrilled by the idea of challenging yourself with an epic thru hike, traversing the rugged mountain range of Corsica, while making special friendships along the way?
If your answer is a YES, the GR20 might be the adventure you are looking for. Pick up pen and paper and start realizing this dream of yours!
At first, it can be difficult to gather all the information to plan a long hike.
This post will guide you through the most common questions that usually fill up my brain when I start dreaming about hiking a new trail.
… I know, it can be a bit overwhelming, but if I managed to organize this epic trip, so can you. One step at a time, one question at a time… happy trail planning!
What is the GR20?
The GR20 is widely known as one of the most epic and tough thru hikes in the world, traversing the rugged mountain range of the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. The trail is characterized by an elevation gain of over 13’000 m and is approximately 180 km long, spanning between the towns of Calenzana and Conca and therefore crossing the island from North-West to South-East. Many mountain huts, known as “refuges” and private “bergeries”, are present along the way and camping is only allowed nearby these shelters. On average, hikers usually take between 12 and 16 days to complete this trekking, depending on fitness level and pace.
What kind of experience does it offer?
The GR20 leads hikers high up into the wild mountains of Corsica, far away from the busy town life. It is a challenging trekking, testing adventurers both mentally and physically, but rewarding them with breathtaking, awe-inspiring alpine landscapes and feelings. More than simply a challenge, this trail is an experience worth living and enjoying.
The GR20 became increasingly popular over the years, and is now a highly frequented trekking, especially during the peak summer months. However, the presence of many people allows hikers to bound and form unforgettable friendships along the way, by sharing this adventure and all the good moments and the struggles that come with it.
I will always remember the goosebumps I had on the top of each climb and how small, intimidated, but also strong and invincilble I felt in front of the huge and rough mountains hugging the trail. The fresh turquoise water of the many natural pools along the GR20 and the moonless night skies, filled with millions of stars, will also stay with me forever.
That being said, it is important to note that a thru hike will always provide a different and unique experience to every hiker. In short, Hike Your Own Hike!
Where can I find useful information?
The planning phase of a long-distance hike can easily become tricky and overwhealming. Sometimes, too many information are present on the web, making it hard to choose the right one to start with. Sometimes, too few information are available, making the planning even harder. Here you can find the pages that we personally used to organize our trip on the GR20.
The website: this website really helped me overcoming my fear of the GR20 and of its challenging reputation as “one of the toughest trail in the world“. It provided great insights and tips on how to successfully complete the trail and on how to organize the whole trip.
The book: as soon as I decided to make this dream of mine become reality, I purchased this book guide from Cicerone. It helped me in the planning of the stages and I brought it with me on trail. I found it at times a bit redundant, but I have to admit that it estimated quite well the walking time, elevation gain and loss of each stage.
The facebook group: this facebook group is a great place to ask questions and find useful insights, directly from people who already hiked the trail or that are in the same planning phase as you.
The Trail Chat: feel free to ask me anything about the trail, I am always happy to help and support you during the planning phase of your thru hike!
The GR20 map: Yannick is a huge fan of paper maps, so he based his stage planning on this GR20 map, covering the whole length of the trail and additionally showing the refuges and the technically difficult or exposed stretches on the trail. I know, who needs paper maps if you already have a GPS device? I even admit that I rarely take with me physical maps of a trail, but the GR20 is not to be underestimated. This trekking leads hikers high up into the mountains, where cell phone signal is very scarse and often not present, and where weather can be unpredictable. For these reasons, I would not rely entirely on a electronical device.
Which difficulties will I face?
The GR20 has a legendary reputation and is widely known as “one of the toughest trails in the world”. This trail is therefore intimidating many hikers, and a large portion of those who attempt to thru hike it will not complete it.
But is it really that tough? I have to admit that this adventure was indeed tough, and involved both a mental and physical challenge, mainly due to the length and elevation gain of the trekking, the heat and the sometimes difficult terrain. However, we are convinced that any passionate hiker with trekking experience, some knlowledge about alpine terrain, a good level of fitness and proper equipment would be able to thru hike the GR20. Therefore, don’t let the GR20 scare you, train ahead if you need to and take this trail one step at a time, while being aware of your capabilities and showing respect to the rugged mountains you are crossing. But above all, try to have fun and enjoy this amazing adventure!
The most important challenges to consider for hiking the GR20 are elencated here below:
HEAVY BACKPACK
Your backpack could become quite heavy if you don’t plan your equipment list well. More importantly, make sure you know how to use your equipment before heading out into the unknown! You can find some tips and a list of everything we brought with us in the posts EQUIPMENT and FOOD.
TECHNICAL TERRAIN
Especially in the northern part of the trail, the rugged alpine terrain is what makes the GR20 tough. Aside from the steep ascents and descents that you will face every day, drastically shortening the length of the stages, the trail often requires scrambling and climbing on rocks, at times with the help of chains and at times on quite exposed sections. However, most of the scramblings and rock climbs are pretty doable, as you’ll always find good spots to safely position your feet and hands.
You can find a list of the difficult sections in the post OUR STAGES. We found these sections both physically and mentally tiring, because they also require focus and concentration on the correct and careful positioning of both feet and hands. Therefore, I would not recommend this trail to people who greatly fear heights, although we met a few hikers who told us they did not suffer from vertigo as they usually do.
The good news is that you don’t have to worry about losing the path on the GR20. The trail is very well marked, and you’ll constantly find red and white signs along the way. An important advice is to follow these marks carefully during the technically difficult sections, as they ALWAYS indicate the easiest way of climbing on the rocks.
WEATHER
The weather is a potential issue that you must not underestimate on the GR20. During summer, the heat could indeed become unbearable in the afternoon and thunderstorms are also quite common late in the day. For avoiding both, we strongly advise to start hiking very early in the morning and to always ask for weather forecast for the next day at the refuges.
REMOTENESS
This trekking leads hikers high up into the mountains, where cell phone signal is very scarse and often not present, and where weather can be unpredictable. For these reasons, we strongly recommend to carry a GPS device that also has a SOS button, which can be pressed for alerting authorities in emergency situations. If you are curious to see which devices we brought with us, head to our EQUIPMENT post.
Additionally, if you plan to hike the GR20 alone, I would advise to talk to other hikers in the evening, and to let them know where you’ll be hading to the next day. If they are heading to the same refuge, they’ll know where you are and that you are supposed to arrive soon. This will improve your safety on the trail.
LEAVE NO TRACE
Although the Leave No Trace principle shouldn’t be considered as a challenge, I couldn’t help but notice how much trash was laying around on the trail. Please, make sure to respect the nature you are visiting by picking up and carrying your own trash, including dirty toilet papers, until the next refuge.
What are the top tips for this thru hike?
These are our best tips for successfully thru hiking the GR20 and for enjoying this wonderful adventure:
Hike the GR20 with a LIGHT BACKPACK
Start hiking EARLY in the MORNING
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and KNOW YOUR CABABILITIES. Doubling the stages and finishing the trail in the shortest time possible could be an interesting challenge, but is not a must. Plan in advance to have one or two additional days for completing this hike, in case you’ll need some rest due to any type of injury or bad weather. Allow your body to recover daily, don’t rush and have fun!
When is the best time to hike it?
The GR20 is typically hiked between June and September, when the trail is clear of snow and the refuges are open and staffed.
JUNE
June is a good month to hike the GR20. Some snow might still be present on the higher sections of the trail, but the refuges will be open and staffed. Moreover, days will get warmer, but not as hot as in the peak summer months, and the trail will also not be as crowded as in July and August.
JULY and AUGUST
We hiked the GR20 in August, and we did not regret it. To avoid the heat during the day and the thunderstorms of the late afternoons, we always started hiking very early in the morning, and had plenty of time to rest at the refuges. Although we were a bit scheptical about the amount of people we would have shared our adventure with, we also enjoyed the social side of the GR20, as we created special friendships along the way.
SEPTEMBER
September is another very good month to hit the GR20, as the temperatures should be cooler throughout the days and the trail becomes less crowded. Although some bergeries start to close and public transports are reduced, the refuges remain open and staffed until the end of the month.
How do I reach the trail?
If you have read the above information about the GR20 and decided that you want to embark on this amazing adventure, it is time to start thinking about how to actually reach the trail.
Corsica can be reached either by plane or by ferry. We advise to choose an entry point from which you can easily reach the trail. Also make sure that, at the end of your adventure, you’ll have the possibility to reach your exit point without difficulties. It is therefore smart to add one or two extra days to your travel itinerary, in case of any public transport delays, bad weather or injuries of any type, which might force you to re-adapt your hiking schedule.
For getting around the island, there is a Train Line between Bastia and Ajaccio, which also branches to Calvi. This railway crosses the GR20 at its mid point in Vizzavona, giving hikers the possibility to start or leave the trail there. Travelling by Bus is also possible, although not so easy, as some services only operate in July and August and delays are quite common. However, if you are planning to prolong your stay in Corsica and visit the island, we advise to do so by car or scooter to have more flexibility. In the post OUR TRIP you can find our travel schedule, which might give you some inspiration.
BY PLANE
The four main airports of Corsica are located in Bastia, Calvi, Ajaccio and Figari, with Calvi being the closest airport to the start of the GR20 in Calenzana.
In our case, we flew with EasyJet to Calvi and took a taxi to the start of the GR20 in Calenzana. At the end of the trekking, a friend we met on the trail offered us a ride from Conca to Porto Vecchio, where we rented a car to move around the island with flexibility and to drive back to Calvi for our flight home.
BY FERRY
From France or Italy, you can travel by ferry to one of the main ports of Corsica, located in Bastia, Calvi, Ajaccio and Porto Vecchio. The main operators are Corsica Ferries, Moby Lines, Corsica Linea and La Meridionale.
Some people we met on trail travelled by car on the ferry to Corsica. They left the vehicle at their chosen endpoint of the GR20, in order to have it once finished the trail, and travelled to the start of the GR20 with public transports.
Other hikers came to Corsica by ferry without a car. At the end of the GR20, they travelled around the island or back to their exit point by hitchhiking or public transports.
What should I pack?
For hiking (and enjoying) the GR20, we strongly advise to minimize your pack weight as much as possible. You will find a detailed list of all the equipment and food we took along with us in the posts EQUIPMENT and FOOD, along with a description of our mistakes and learned lessons on the trail.
Here I will just try to answer the most frequently asked questions during the planning phase of this thru hike.
Where can I buy fuel for my camping stove?
Since we travelled to Corsica by plane, we purchased one gas canister (230 g), shared for both of us, at the supermarket in Calenzana. It was not really necessary, since there is a shared kitchen with stoves at all the refuges along the trail, but we wanted to be independent and avoid queueing for simply cooking dinner.
I would recommend to buy gas canisters directly at the start (Calenzana), mid point (Vizzavona) or end (Conca) of the GR20, as the supermarkets will be stocked for hikers and will provide different types of canisters. However, if you are trying to minimize your backpack weight, just purchase a small one, or none at all!
How much food should I carry?
We have to admit that, regarding food and resupply options, we did not make enough research in advance. We indeed brought with us trekking food and some of our own dehydrated meals, lasting for approximately 7 dinners. However, we soon realized that this was unnecessary and we wanted to get rid of this additional weight as fast as possible. Every refuge has indeed a small shop selling can food, snacks, sausages, cheese, and sometimes bread and trekking food. Moreover, many refuges also offer a menu for dinner, a breakfast and even a take-away picknick for the next stage.
We therefore recommend to carry food for a maximum of 2 days, or to carry a picknick for the stage only, in order to minimize your pack’s weight. If you are curious about our food strategy on the GR20, head to our FOOD post. You can also find more information about the provisions sold at the refuges in the post ACCOMMODATIONS.
How much water should I carry?
Every evening, we collected water at the sources of the refuges, and I personally carried 3L with me every day, since we hiked the GR20 in July and the temperatures were getting very high. Additionally, some of the water sources on trail might dry out during the warmest summer months, so I strongly advise to always carry with you plenty of water for the whole stage. There are many rivers along the trail from which water can also be collected, but it is recommended to always filter the water, if not collected from an official (clean) source.
Where can I leave my normal clothes?
You will definitely not need fancy clothes for this adventure. Therefore, make sure to only pack clothes that you REALLY need during the hike. The full list of the clothes I packed, the ones I wore and the ones I would leave at home can be found in the post EQUIPMENT.
Since we prolongued our stay in Corsica after the trekking, we additionally bought some “normal“ clothes in Porto Vecchio.
How much money will I spend?
For the entire trip we both spent 1’800 CHF each, including flights.
Prices can get quite high in Corsica, especially on the trail. Every evening, after a tough stage under the sun, we could not resist to the temptation of snacks and fresh sodas at the refuges. Moreover, after the trekking, we also spent two whole days as tourists on the island, we rented a car and treated ourselves with nice hotels and good dinners.
The budget for this trip could strongly vary depending on how you decide to get to Corsica and on your accommodation choice, wheter you choose to bring your own tent, sleep in a tent provided by the refuges, or in the dormitories. Additionally, we did not reserve in advance all the refuges along the way, since we wanted to keep our hiking schedule flexible. By booking and paying the stay at the refuges in advance, you could indeed spare some money. A comparison of the prices asked by the refuges is described in the post ACCOMMODATIONS.
I think that, with a good planning and without additional touristic expenses, the budget for this trip could be easily reduced to 800 CHF.
Long story short, don’t get discouraged and plan your own adventure!
CASH OR CARD?
The GR20 is mostly a CASH ONLY type of trekking. Furthermore, there are NO ATMs along the way, not even at Calenzana, Vizzavona and Conca. It is therefore essential to estimate in advance your costs on the trail and to bring with you some more cash than estimated, in case your hiking schedule does not go as planned.