The GR 20

The GR 20 is Corsica's most famous footpath. It is 173km long and traverses the island from the north west to the south east and forces the hiker to climb 9900m up and, of course, down again. Well-trained hillwalkers manage it in 82 hours walking time, but the record is about 43 hours! If you are healthy and physically more or less in good shape, you'll need about 15-20 days (with 4 to 8 hours walking time each).

This path really isn't a quiet tip; sometimes there are even traffic jams! But most of the time you'll walk alone, meeting a group of hikers about every hour or so.

For those who like solving riddles: I'll explain the meaning of "GR 20" at the end of this chapter, so you'll have enough time to figure it out yourself.

Passing the night

There are refuges in a day's distance that are mostly built and maintained by the Parc Naturel Régional de la Corse (PNRC). They offer mattress rests (bring your own sleeping-bag with you), drinking water (eau potable), gas cooker and a lavatory plus toilet (don't forget bringing your own toilet paper!), and occasionally an open air shower, all for 40 FF per night and nose. If you just want to use the gas, you are asked to pay 10 FF. It is possible to put up a tent or to bivouac free of charge (except for some refuges that charge 10 FF even if you don't use the gas). Using the sanitary facilities is free, even if you don't stay for the night. The huts have a capacity of 25 to 35 "beds", and in the season they tend to be a bit overcrowded, so having a tent or at least everything you need for bivouacing is a good thing. The refuges sometimes offer beverages and food (read: snacks), but you can't rely on it and it's the exception, so bring enough food with you. During the Summer, the refuges are maintained by a "gardien", often with a dog.

Make sure you have an insulation mat and a bivouac bag (or, better, a light tent). Every now and then, refuges burn down or are simply overcrowded. Bergeries (shepherds' settlements) don't offer accommodation, and normally not even camping possibilities.

Take enough money with you, you won't have a chance to fill up your portemonnaie (burse)!

Path marks

The GR 20 is well-marked with a white and a red rectangle one upon the other. Don't care about the order, that's a thing the markers haven't agreed on yet, but the white rectangle normally is above the red one. Whenever the way changes direction, two marks appear, one on top of the other. Feeder paths are marked with one color.

There are also lots of small stone heaps that make finding the right way fairly easy. The friendly hiker does his best to help maintaining them.

But although the path is well-marked, having a map is really obligatory. It's easy to get on a feeder path or lose the way at climbing passages.

Water supply

All refuges and bergeries offer drinking water (you can rely on that), and on most day's marches there are sources, but in Summer they sometimes happen to have run dry, so make sure you always carry enough water with you. Ask oncoming hikers!

Food supply

Food supply sometimes is a problem. Especially on the northern part of the path, it may be necessary to descend to a village to get hold of food. On the southern part, you'll pass a shop every two or three days. Take enough chocolate with you, but make sure to wrap it thoroghly, it will melt! Chocolate is a good source of energy, and you'll need lots of energy. Rice is efficient and quite tasty, and noodles and instant cream potatoes (with milk powder) are good for a change. You won't find instant sauces on your way, so take enough with you or you'll have to swallow down your food dry. Instant soups are good, too; they can be bought on the way.

For breakfast, muesli with milk (milk powder) is fine, but make sure it has lots of kilojoules in it. At least in the south, you can buy bread and biscuits. Bergeries often sell cheese (fromage), salami (saucisse) and bread (pain), but you can't rely on that.

If your travel guide doesn't tell you where to get food (the Velbinger does), ask oncoming hikers where they got theirs.

Now what the heck does GR 20 mean?

GR is short for "Grande Randonnée", which means "big walking-tour". And 20 just happens to be the ex number of the ex département Corse (it's now splitted into two).

There are more of these paths in France, but the GR 20 is definitely one of the toughest and exhausting ones. And it's surely one of the most beautiful ones.