GR20 North
Duration: 7 nights
Walking: 6 days' walking: 5-8 hours a day
Difficulty level: Tough - read more on our walking gradings
Accommodation: Camping, simple refuges and shepherds' cabins - all shared dorms with limited showers and wcs
Type: Self-guided
Start and finish point: Vizzavona - Bonifato. Fly into / out of Calvi
Departure dates: Sundays from 9th June to 15th September
Your fitness will need to be on point for this section of the GR20.
Starting in Vizzavona and walking your way to Bonifato, you will trek through some of the most challenging mountain terrain experiencing high ridges, deep chasms and bare granite slops for long periods of time. Continuous steep ascents and descents will greet you daily, along with the most stunning scenery. Resilience will need to be at the top of your personality traits! This trek benefits from a luggage service where you will be reunited with your main bag at selected points throughout your trek.
The GR20 is becoming more and more popular, but it remains the most difficult trek in Europe. To overlook this could put inexperienced walkers in danger. There is a need to prepare for this trip properly and to not overestimate your ability. The GR20 is for hikers in very good physical shape who already have the experience of high mountain trekking over several days, and are able to manage to self guide their walking with all that that involves: determination, effort, map skills and orientation, be aware and can handle adjustments in the weather.
This walk is very challenging, You need to be sure footed and have appropriate scrambling experience - you need to know how to place your feet on rocky ground.
Getting Prepared
We recommend at least three sessions a week of aerobic exercise and regular hill walking. It is good to get in some hill walks on rough, uneven terrain, to build up ankle strength. Train to walk downhill, get used to knowing where to put your feet. Aim to progress walking downhill at a reasonable pace, two walking poles will reduce the shock on your legs.
Relevant walks you should have undertaken before the GR20:
1. Ascending Snowdon by Crib Goch
2. Descending from Blencathra in the Lake Dristrict by Sharp Edge
3. Scrambling along the Aonach Eagach ridge end of Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands
