GR 20 stages: the 16 days from Calenzana to Conca

The GR 20 crosses Corsica through the mountains from north to south, from Calenzana, above Calvi, to Conca, near Porto-Vecchio. About 180 km and 12,000 m of elevation gain (D+, the total climbing), split into 16 stages from hut to hut. It is the best-known long-distance trail in France, and the one most often called the hardest.

Here are the stages one by one, what sets the north apart from the south, how to book the huts and how to get to both ends.

The 16 stages of the GR 20

The 16-stage division is the one the FFRandonnée (the French hiking federation) recommends. The distances and climbing below are worked out from our GR 20 trace (OpenStreetMap), scaled to the total of 180 km and 12,000 m: take them as orders of magnitude, not official figures. Between guides, the same stage often differs by a kilometre or two. The indicative walking times are gr20-infos'.

Stage	From → to	km	Up	Down	Walking time
1	Calenzana → Ortu di u Piobbu hut	11	1,500 m	200 m	6 h 30
2	Ortu di u Piobbu → Carrozzu hut	7	700 m	950 m	7 h
3	Carrozzu → Ascu Stagnu hut	5	800 m	600 m	6 h
4	Ascu Stagnu → Tighjettu hut	8	1,200 m	950 m	8 h
5	Tighjettu → Ciottulu di i Mori hut	6	700 m	350 m	4 h
6	Ciottulu di i Mori → Manganu hut	25	800 m	1,200 m	8 h
7	Manganu → Petra Piana hut	8	850 m	550 m	6 h 30
8	Petra Piana → L'Onda hut	10	500 m	950 m	5 h
9	L'Onda → Vizzavona	10	650 m	1,150 m	6 h
10	Vizzavona → E Capannelle	14	1,000 m	300 m	5 h 15
11	E Capannelle → Prati hut	17	950 m	750 m	6 h
12	Prati → Usciolu hut	10	650 m	700 m	5 h 45
13	Usciolu → Matalza hut	11	300 m	650 m	4 h 30
14	Matalza → Asinau hut	10	650 m	500 m	4 h
15	Asinau → I Paliri hut	15	500 m	1,050 m	7 h
16	I Paliri → Conca	13	300 m	1,150 m	5 h

Two stages stand out. The fourth, from Ascu Stagnu to Tighjettu, climbs to the Pointe des Éboulis (2,607 m), the highest point of the GR 20. Since 2015 it has replaced the passage through the Cirque de la Solitude: a rockfall killed seven hikers there on 10 June 2015, and the GR 20 never went back, even though the cirque reopened to the public in 2018. The sixth, from Ciottulu di i Mori to Manganu, is the longest (about 25 km), by the Col de Vergio and the Lac de Nino, ringed with pozzines (wet alpine meadows). Some split it in two with a night at Castel di Vergio.

You will also read "15 stages": the same trail, with a night at Castel di Vergio instead of Ciottulu di i Mori, and Usciolu → Asinau in one go.

North and south

Vizzavona, halfway, has a station on the line linking Ajaccio with Bastia and Calvi. That is why many people walk only one half of the GR 20, or the two halves over two summers.

The GR 20 North (Calenzana → Vizzavona, 9 stages, about 90 km) holds most of the climbing: nearly 7,600 m on our trace, almost two thirds of the total. Stages short in distance but long in hours, slabs, chains, places where you use your hands. It is the rockier and more demanding half.

The GR 20 South (Vizzavona → Conca, 7 stages, about 90 km) climbs half as much, about 4,400 m. The stages are longer, with more forest and high plateaus, and the end drops towards the sea. Easier going, still not easy: you are still walking above 1,800 m.

North to south is the classic direction, the guidebooks'. It is walked the other way too.

The huts and booking

The GR 20 huts are run by the Parc naturel régional de Corse. In 2026, booking was compulsory for every option, camping included, online only on the park's platform (pnr-resa.corsica), which opened on 20 January for the season. Wild camping is banned along the whole route: tents go up only in the huts' camping areas.

The published 2026 rates: €20 a night in a hut bunk, €12 to camp in your own tent, €27 for a rented one-person tent and €39 for two. You could change your date or hut up to two days before, depending on space, but not the type of night. Your place is held until 7 pm on the day you arrive. On the stages without a park hut, the site now lists private accommodation.

Each hut has a set number of places a night. Ortu di u Piobbu, Carrozzu and Usciolu are among the first to fill, and the FFRandonnée warns that the first weeks of June and the first of September will be the most in demand. For summer 2027, look from January: dates and rates are not published yet.

The park puts the numbers at nearly 20,000 hikers a season. Daily quotas per stage have been raised as an idea; nothing has been decided so far.

When to go

In 2026, the huts were staffed from 16 May to 4 October. Outside those dates they are unstaffed and cannot be booked on the platform.

In spring, snow lingers on the highest passes of the north: at the end of April 2026, the FFRandonnée still reported a snowy GR 20 as the opening approached. Mid-June to the end of September remains the safest window for the whole trail. In July and August, afternoon storms are common up high: set off early.

Is it really that hard?

The GR 20 is not a mountaineering route, but it is not a gentle upland path either. It asks for:

• stamina: 16 days in a row with 700 to 1,500 m of climbing a day in the north, pack on your back;
• sure feet: slabs, boulder fields, sections fitted with chains, and long descents on loose ground;
• self-reliance: carrying your pack every day, your food for the day and what you need to sit out a storm up high.

If you're unsure, the GR 20 South is a good first half. If you want a gentler mountain crossing, look at the Tour du Mont Blanc or the other ideas in our pick of the best GR trails in France.

Getting to Calenzana and leaving Conca

Calenzana is 12 km from Calvi. Buses link Calvi and Calenzana in season (about half an hour); otherwise a taxi from Calvi airport costs around €35 to €40. Bastia airport is about 1 h 40 away by road.

Conca is about 6 km from Sainte-Lucie-de-Porto-Vecchio. A shuttle runs from Conca down to Porto-Vecchio, where the buses leave from. The nearest airport is Figari, under an hour away.

Vizzavona is reached by train from Ajaccio or Bastia, and by bus from Ajaccio. To get back north from Conca, allow a day: the trip back to Calvi takes more than four hours.

The GR 20 as a poster

Sixteen days, sixteen stages, a line cutting across Corsica. On Map My Life, the GR 20 poster draws the whole trail from Calenzana to Conca and puts a dot at every stage end. You choose what it shows in large type: the number of days walked ("16 jours", or your own count) or your dates.

Only walked the north or the south? Pick "GR 20 Nord" or "GR 20 Sud", or any stretch between two stage ends: the map, the profile and the figures follow. Corsica is taller than it is wide, so the poster reads in portrait.

The A4 PDF is free. A print costs €40 in A4, €50 in 30 × 40 cm and €60 in 50 × 70 cm; framed, €75 in A4 and €85 in 30 × 40 cm. Delivery €4.90 for prints, €7.90 with a frame, once per order, to the whole European Union, Monaco, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, La Réunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Ships within 4 working days, delivered within 8 working days in mainland France, 8 to 16 elsewhere in Europe, 8 to 15 in the rest of the world and 15 to 27 in the French overseas territories.

FAQ

How many stages does the GR 20 have?

Sixteen in the division the FFRandonnée recommends, from Calenzana to Conca. Some walk it in 15 (a night at Castel di Vergio instead of Ciottulu di i Mori, Usciolu → Asinau in one go), others in 13 days by doubling up short stages.

Do you have to book the GR 20 huts?

Yes. In 2026, booking was compulsory for every option, camping included, online on the Parc naturel régional de Corse's platform. Wild camping is banned.

When is the best time to walk the GR 20?

Mid-June to the end of September. The huts are staffed from mid-May to early October, but snow often lingers on the northern passes in May and June.

Can you walk just half of the GR 20?

Yes. Vizzavona, halfway, has a station. The north (Calenzana → Vizzavona) is 9 stages and holds most of the climbing; the south (Vizzavona → Conca) is 7.

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