Day-by-day trail itinerary

GR 20 (Corsica): 11-day itinerary

The hardest stretch on the trail, and it is hard from the first hour. An old mule track climbs out of Calenzana through maquis and forest, but the scrub gives out around Bocca a u Saltu at about 1,250 m and everything above that is granite: slabs with chains bolted to them, boulder crests where hands are in constant use, and descents on unstable, slippery rock that cost as much time as the climbs. The Spasimata footbridge and the smooth canted slabs above it carry more cable than the rest of the route put together, and they are the most exposed ground a walker meets here. It closes with the biggest single climb the GR20 offers, roughly 1,200 m out of Ascu Stagnu onto the Monte Cinto ridge at just under 2,600 m, which is the line that replaced the Cirque de la Solitude in 2016. Three quarters of the first day is in the open, and above the tree line there is no shade at all.