GR20 South - Bavella to Vizzavona

This holiday starts on a Sunday in Ajaccio, a grouped transfer will take you up to Bavella. The region is known as the Alta Rocca and Bavella is one of the most famous peaks of the island, known for its high mountain pass and mystical summits. Time to settle into the gite before the evening meal.

From the high mountain pass, the Col de Bavella you take the GR20 trail - Alpine variant. It leads steeply uphill before passing at the base of several granite pinnacles. The trail is rough under foot and equipped over a few metres with a chain that helps stability across the rocks. The trail plunges down into the valley before passing through the woods. After a river crossing the GR20 pulls up to Asinau, and Bergerie Chez Aline. 

Climb to the summit of Incudina (2134 m). The view from here is panoramic and gives a foretaste of the hikes to come. Crossing the Cuscionu plateau will remind some of green Ireland, a surprising image in the heart of an island in the middle of the Mediterranean.

You'll come across some superb pozzines along a small river. You'll return to the ridge that leads to the Usciolu refuge. The views of the upper Taravo and the Tyrrhenian Sea are breathtaking. At the start of the season, if there is a lot of snow, the stopover may be at the village of Cozzano.

A superb ridge crossing over the watershed between the Taravu and Fiumorbu valleys. The view is sumptuous. You can see the sea and the villages of the lower valleys in a granite atmosphere. The GR20 drops rapidly down in and out of the forest to your destination at the Col de Verde. (1289m).

From the Col de Verde to Capanelle (1,590 m), a balcony route along the mountainside. In the shade of magnificent Laricio pines, the GR 20 climbs to the Col de Flasca, crosses the Marmanu stream, before reaching the Traghjette and Capanelle sheepfolds.

This is the last stage of the southern part of the GR 20. A footpath leads you without difficulty to Bocca Palmente (1640 m). Here you will discover a number of sheepfolds still occupied during the summer grazing season. The trail drops down into the thick forest to Vizzavona (920m),  the midway point of the GR20. Holiday ends upon arrival at Vizzavona train station ( trains to Ajaccio or Bastia).