The GR20 has earned its reputation. From the very first kilometres leaving Calenzana, the trail climbs relentlessly toward the Carozzu refuge through a chaos of rocks and thorny maquis. Guides regularly rank it as the most demanding long-distance trail in Europe — not because of altitude (the highest point barely exceeds 2,700 metres), but because of the terrain: raw granite, colossal cumulative elevation gains, and permanent exposure to the elements.
The northern section, from Calenzana to Vizzavona (roughly 90km, 9 days), is the most technical. The passages around the Aiguilles de Bavella and the crossing of the Rinaghja plateau demand solid mountain hiking experience. Progress on hands and feet through the cabled sections is not uncommon. The reward is commensurate: pink granite cirques that the evening light transforms into natural cathedrals.
The southern section, from Vizzavona to Conca, becomes more varied — forests of laricio pines, high-altitude sheepfolds and glacial lakes of an unreal blue. It is in this part that the trek takes on a more contemplative dimension, once the legs are broken in and the mind has tuned into the mountain's rhythm.
"On the GR20, every day you want to quit. Every evening, you remember why you keep going."
A few essential practical points: book the refuges from March for a July-August trip, bring rigid boots with very aggressive soles, and never underestimate afternoon storms at altitude. The best window remains mid-June or mid-September, when the refuges are less crowded and the heat more clement.
On the last day, descending toward Conca, the sea appears between the pines. This is not an ending — it's a synthesis. Fifteen days of rock, wind, fatigue and raw beauty condensed into that distant blue. The GR20 does not leave you unchanged. It gives you back to yourself, slightly different from the person who left Calenzana two weeks ago.