GR®20 from Calenzana to Conca in 13 days

Date of your route : Nov 01, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Route completed from 15 to 23 September 2024, in 9 days instead of 13...
I took the Gr route and therefore the Pointe des Éboulis rather than the alternative route via the Cirque de la Solitude, due to the weather conditions... clouds and risk of snow.
The description does not adequately reflect the actual difficulty of the route, especially in bad weather, as was the case for me. The route is challenging and dangerous (slabs, climbing and descending, torrent beds, ridge running).
Choice of places to stay/bivouac: in my opinion, some (generally those "managed" by the park) are to be avoided, such as Asinau, Prati, and Usciollu... due to the quality of the accommodation.
Between Petra Piana and L'Onda, I took the GR and not the alternative route, and this section is superb, one of the most beautiful stages. Lovely paths, and completed in 3½ hours... (I walk fast).
The private refuge at Col de Verde is preferable to the one at Prati in terms of hospitality; it's like night and day.
Otherwise, the GR trail markings sometimes leave something to be desired...
The welcome at many of the park's refuges is often mediocre, so it's better to turn to private establishments whenever possible, as they are cheaper and more welcoming.
Be careful with the weather. For my part, I had 1.5 days of sunshine... the rest was more like what you'd expect in Scotland... fog, rain, clouds.

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Date of your route : Aug 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : Yes

I liked:
- the ridge walks
- the sunrises shining brightly over the sea
- the kitchens, grocery stores, and rubbish bins in the refuges
- The very precise markings on the rocks, thank you, otherwise there would be a risk of accidents
- the chained passages introducing me to abseiling over 2/3 metres

I didn't like:
- the difficulty of the northern trails
- The monotony of some of the southern trails
- Few lakes
- having to camp around the refuges
- having to pay double for not booking in advance
- having to book at least 48 hours in advance
- being refused a bivouac reservation on the grounds that you did not show up (?)
- Insufficient signage on the trail, at crossroads, no sign at the entrance to the correct path, no cross on the others, no left/right turn signs
- Difficult passages that can be bypassed; on other GR trails, they indicate the safest passage and the fastest but less safe one with dotted lines

My favourite sites remain
1/ the Pyrenees
2/ the Alps
3/ Réunion
and I prefer to explore the valleys to see all the lakes/peaks/passes/waterfalls rather than follow a GR
But I'm glad I did it, it was a test for me and at my age I might not have been able to do it later
Mixed results: I'm not able to carry a very heavy bag, but I can hike with my tent without any limits, relying on mountain huts for supplies
I'm average on easy terrain but very slow on difficult sections or rough descents.

Thank you for your descriptions and tracks, which allowed me to retrace my steps when I made a mistake, whereas many who only had the paper guide sometimes got lost.

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Date of your route : Jul 22, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

The walk is planned for July–August, so developments will obviously come after that, but otherwise it seems well planned to me, with the desire to start the GR20.
Thanks to everyone who helped put these routes together...

Tom Amesz

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Hello Bibi,

My husband and I already have our plane tickets to hike the GR20 at the end of August this year. I have a friend who has done it several times and he suggests we group the stages as follows, as we only have 12 days on the ground:
Day 1 22/08 Calenzana - Ortu di U Piobbu
Day 2, 23/08 Ortu di U Piobbu - Ascu Stagnu
Day 3 24/08 Ascu Stagnu - Tighjettu
Day 4 25/08 Tighjettu - Col di Vergio
Day 5 26/08 Col di Vergio - Manganu
Day 6 27/08 Manganu - Onda
Day 7 28/08 Onda - Vizzavona
Day 8 29/08 Vizzavona - Bocca Verde
Day 9 30/08 Bocca Verde - Usciolu
Day 10 31/08 Usciolu - Asinau
Day 11 1/09 Asinau - I Paliri
Day 12 2/09 I Paliri - Conca

Day 13 3/09 Conca - Sainte Lucie de Porto Vecchio because at 1:50 p.m. we have the bus to take us back to the airport.

What do you think?
I'm worried about the 28 km between Asinau and Conca, just like I was about the stretch between Vizzavona and Bocca Verde. Which would be more realistic? Because 28 km for the last stage... gulp...
I know it depends on each person (walking speed, physical condition, etc.), but I'd be interested to hear your opinion.
If you think certain sections are unrealistic, that will give me a good indication.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Have a good week.

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Date of your route : Sep 13, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Gr 20 is very well marked, so there are no problems finding your way. There is a lot of discussion among hikers about the best places to camp (always near a refuge or sheepfold), alternative routes, etc. We recommend the Vallonne sheepfold and the Vaccahia sheepfold.

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Date of your route : Aug 03, 2016
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,

From north to south in seven and a half days.

As the article says, we are indeed happy to arrive in Vizzavonne.

Thank you

Seb

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On the hike page, there is an "export GPS" button on the right under the route preview. Once saved on your computer, simply transfer it to your GPS. Check beforehand and use Firefox, as it works better.

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Hello.
I am leaving on Tuesday to hike the GR 20, and I would like to download the route (north-south) onto my GPS (Dakota 20).
What is the procedure for doing this?
Thank you in advance.

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Normally, you can download the GPS track to your computer and either edit it on your computer or transfer it to your GPS device. All you have to do is follow the route without worrying about the direction... it just gives you a highlighted route...

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first use of gps62sgarmin
I'm thinking of doing the GR20 this summer, but from south to north
How can I rework the route on my map on my PC? I'm thinking of transferring it to the GPS using a micro SD card.

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