Monte Incudine in Southern Corsica

Date of your route : Jun 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

A few additional comments regarding the previous review, which is very well written.

In June 2025, the road is in very poor condition from the last sharp bend (elevation 1360 m), 2.5 km before the refuge. An SUV can get through, but not a saloon car.
After that, the ascent route as described is very pleasant and gradual. You’ll encounter animals but very few people before joining the GR. It’s impossible to get lost.
For the return journey, a lovely alternative is to head east of Castellu d’Ornucciu via the shepherds’ path described from point 5 of hike no. 24561705. You can reach this point by taking a narrow but well-marked path to the south-west from the Incudine route, 400m west of the Col (Bocca) de Chiralba, which is point 7. This takes you to the shepherds’ path at the 1600m mark (this is actually a shortcut you can also take on the way up!)
The landscape, to the east of Castellu d’Ornucciu, is then exceptional and different from what you will have seen on the ascent via the track: it is a little longer but well worth it!

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Date of your route : Oct 05, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The ‘Hike description’ at the top of this page contains errors (including the summit’s altitude! which is actually 2,134 m) and inaccuracies… So here is another overview of the route:
By car from Quenza, drive up to the car park at the Bucchinera lodge (1,535 m): allow about an hour for this, as the 11 km of tarmac road is full of large potholes (you have to zigzag quite a bit and drive at walking pace – watch out if you’re in a hire car!), which become increasingly frequent as you climb, with the worst one located 1 km from the top: with our city car, we were still able to get over it very slowly after filling it in with a few stones...
Allow around 6 hours for the round trip including breaks: easy for the first two-thirds of the route, and a little less so for the final third as it is slightly steeper, strewn with scree and small boulders, and occasionally requires you to follow cairns.
To simplify the route (notably by omitting point (1) from the guidebook, which is now impossible to find as it lies behind the lodge):
Start the hike from the refuge by following the 4x4 track. Always follow the signs for Alcudina (‘the anvil’, the Corsican name for Incudine). Along the way, you will see Pozzines (peat bogs dotted with pools) on the left.
Note: Alternatively, for a more pleasant setting than the track, you can take the ‘start of the footpaths’ on the left at the start of the track, then the so-called ‘shepherds’ path’: this runs alongside the track on the right for a while before eventually joining it. On the return journey (with your legs feeling heavier), you can then stay on the track...
On reaching a pass (1,635m), the track splits in two: to the left it descends, to the right it climbs – take the latter.
After about 900m along this track, you’ll find the start of the GR20 trail on the right: there are signs here indicating ‘Bocca Stazzunara (pass), Alcudina, Asinau (mountain hut)’.
From there, simply follow the red and white markings of the GR20, and the cairns where the markings are not visible or have been partially worn away.
You pass through the Bocca di a Chiralba pass (1,743m): signs indicate “Monte Alcudina/Incudine, Asinau (mountain hut)”.
You pass through the Bocca Stazzunara pass (2025m): signs indicate “Alcudina 20 mins, Asinau refuge 1h30”
Follow the clearly visible yellow markings on the rocks all the way to the summit cross.

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Date of your route : Sep 24, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Hike to Mont Incudine undertaken in the third week of September 2021, so there were fewer people on the GR20.
We set off from and returned to the Croce refuge. The route is very well signposted (“New” GR20 then “Old” GR20, which mixes yellow markings with red and white ones. The walk took about 7 hours, which confirms the guidebook information found on Visorando.
I recommend the anti-clockwise route, with the ascent via the “Asinau side” and the descent via the “Usciolu side”.
Special mention for La Croce: a warm welcome, quality meals, hot showers...
A lovely hike and an excellent spot on the GR20

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Date of your route : Jul 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk. One of our favourites in Corsica
We particularly enjoyed the first part, with lots of pigs, cows and horses frolicking in the green grass amongst the pozzines. Absolutely lovely.
We completed the circular hike in 4½ hours (excluding breaks), walking at a good pace but without pushing ourselves.
The 11km drive up takes just under an hour. The road is in poor condition. But no problem getting up to the refuge without a 4x4 in good weather.

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Date of your route : May 01, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Just so you know, you can no longer drive right up to the lodge; you have to stop 1 km earlier (there’s a huge hole in the road that blocks vehicles)... So add 2 km to the distance given.
The elevation gain is spread over a considerable distance, so the slopes are gentle. Magnificent scenery, horses and cows roaming free (also lots of pigs on the drive up).
Unfortunately, I couldn’t enjoy the final view as I arrived in the fog... And set off at top speed (thunderstorm, hail... then snow!) I completed the whole thing in 4 hours 45 minutes, but the return leg felt more like a run than a hike...
Enjoy the hike

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