Trekking in GR20, Corsica

The GR20 runs the length of Corsica's mountainous spine and has a reputation it has thoroughly earned: routinely called the hardest waymarked trail in Europe. Around 180 kilometres over roughly fifteen days, it is less a walk than a sustained scramble — chains bolted into granite slabs, boulder fields, and a daily grind that breaks people who arrived overconfident.

The payoff is a genuinely alpine landscape sitting improbably in the middle of the Mediterranean: jagged peaks, glacial lakes, and a river pool to swim in most afternoons. The northern half is the tougher and more spectacular; the south is gentler if you want an easier taste of it.

Snow can block the northern stages into late June, and the refuges — where most walkers sleep and eat — take bookings online and fill early. Come fit, come with some scrambling confidence, and don't underestimate it; the GR20 quietly humbles a lot of experienced hikers every single summer.

Snow can block the northern stages into late June. Refuges take bookings online and fill early.