The GR20 of Corsica: Europe's Toughest Trek, One Hour from Italy

The GR20 is widely considered the toughest long-distance trek in Europe, and with good reason: 180 kilometres along the mountain spine of Corsica, with more than 13,000 metres of cumulative elevation gain, exposed rock passages, streams to ford and spartan refuges. But its reputation as an extreme route puts off many walkers who would in fact have the legs for it — especially if they limit themselves to the southern half, gentler and more accessible.

The GR20 is divided into two halves: the northern section, from Calenzana to Vizzavona, is the most technical and spectacular. You walk among ridges of red granite, glacial lakes of an impossible blue and pinnacles that recall the Dolomites. The equipped passages demand sure hands and feet but no mountaineering experience. The refuges are basic — a roof, a mattress, a pot — and water comes from the streams.

The southern section, from Vizzavona to Conca, is more gentle: forests of laricio pine and beech, high-altitude pastures, stone-built villages. The stages are less demanding, the refuges more comfortable, the landscape more pastoral. It is an excellent first approach for anyone wanting to discover whether the GR20 suits them.

The full route takes 12–16 days. Most walkers go south, starting from Calenzana (reachable by bus from Calvi) and finishing at Conca (bus to Porto-Vecchio). But you can start from Vizzavona in the middle and walk just one half.

The window is narrow: June (residual snow on the highest passes), July and August (the busiest period), September (the best — fewer people, still long days). In October the refuges close and the weather becomes unpredictable.

Corsica is an hour's ferry ride from Sardinia and a few hours from mainland Italy, yet the GR20 feels like another continent: wild mountains, no roads, no villages for days on end. You walk with everything on your back, eat what you've carried, sleep wherever evening finds you.

The GR20 is not for everyone, but it is for more people than imagine it is. The real difficulty is not physical — it is mental: accepting discomfort, rain, exhaustion, and continuing to walk because the next pass might open the finest view of your life.