GR20 IN CORSICA

We were here: June 2013.
Number of days necessary to hike its 180 km long with 22,000 meters of accumulated altitude: we did it in 13 days; the usual are between 10 and 15, but there are ultratrailers that runs it in 33 hours.
My score: 4/5.

An attraction for a very specific public, the GR20 is one of the most spectacular, hardest and most rewarding multi-day hiking routes in Europe. Do not understimate it when I say is one of the hardest; Until that date, it had always been of those that when a route says 6 hours, I did it in 5, when it says 3, I did it in 2 and something, and although we finished the route faster than recommended, that does not mean that the trek is not very hard, personally I found it tougher than the Annapurnas Route in Nepal (including altitude sickness), more than the Overland Track in Tasmania and more than Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia. In short, it is harder than most routes that exist, so it is not for everyone. The rule in GR20 is basically, that the trail will go through the most difficult spot you see in front of you. The use of chains and ropes to climb some ramps is not uncommon, and if there are none, more than once we will have to use our hands to climb the path; we will have to save the vertigo on the ridges; suffer heat in summer, cold in winter, rain at any time; cross areas that may have snow throughout the year; shower and wash clothes with thaw water; eat what there is and how much there is (sometimes not much quantity) in the huts on duty, and all that by carrying all our equipment (tent included) for almost two weeks.

All this for the pleasure of walking through nature almost alone for days, among forests, climbing and descending rocky and steep peaks on the most mountainous island in Europe, for feeling the effort and testing yourself in a beautiful environment, but that it is certainly not comparable in beauty to Patagonia or in charming to Nepal. For this reason, making this route is something that only an authentic mountaineer can understand and enjoy.