How do you wash on the GR20?

Refuges on the GR20 often have showers, which are usually cold except in rare cases. Towels or flannels can be used with a little water for a quick clean-up. Some hikers choose to heat a little water on a gas cooker to wash themselves, although this requires more effort and equipment. For a quick, water-free solution, using wet wipes can be handy. It's important to note that, even with the use of biodegradable soaps, washing in natural waterways such as streams or mountain lakes is not recommended to avoid pollution. Respect for the environment is paramount.

What are the refuges like on the GR20?

Most of the refuges on the GR20 are fairly old and of limited capacity. They are often built of granite stone. To accommodate the large number of hikers who cannot stay in the dormitories, bivouac areas are set up nearby. It should be noted that the sanitary facilities in some refuges are not always adequate during busy periods on the GR20.

Can I bring my own tent?

Yes, it is quite possible to sleep in your own tent on the GR20. This means carrying it with you throughout the trek, which can significantly increase the weight of your rucksack. The weight of your tent is therefore an important factor to consider. You should also make sure that your tent is adapted to the variable and sometimes difficult weather conditions of the Corsican mountains. It's important to note that wild camping is prohibited outside the areas designated by the Corsican Regional Nature Park.

What does the word GR20 mean?

The acronym GR20 stands for "Grande Randonnée numéro 20". So the GR20 is the twentieth long-distance hiking trail. Prior to 1970, Corsica was effectively department number 20 in France, which coincides with the number assigned to this trail in the list of 370 long-distance hiking trails.

The Corsican Chestnut « A Castagna »

10 October 2022

Discover Corsica

« A chì ùn ni hà, ùn ni mangna. Sè tù voli a farina và à coglia a castagna ». "He who has nothing will not eat. If you want flour, go and pick chestnuts". And we are exactly at the time when the Corsican product par excellence is being picked! But do you know the whole story?

The history of the Corsican chestnut

The chestnut tree, or "breadfruit tree", is an integral part of Corsican history. It even gave its name to a region in Haute-Corse, Castagniccia. Although chestnuts have been grown on the island of beauty since time immemorial, it was not until the arrival of the Genoese colonisers in the Middle Ages that the fruit really came into its own.

At a time of famine, the Genoese forced every Corsican landowner to plant at least 4 trees a year to pay their taxes. The chestnut tree was an obvious choice, recognised for its nutritional value: one chestnut tree could provide a family with enough food for a month.

Top products made with Corsican chestnuts

The famous Pietra

This delicious beer, which you like to enjoy after a hike, is the most popular in Corsica. With 6% alcohol, it is brewed from barley malt and Corsican chestnut flour, which gives it its unique caramel flavour. Why is it called Pietra? Because it was created in Pietraserena, a commune in Haute-Corse, by Dominique Sialelli in 1994.

Chestnut flour

Chestnut flour is the basis of many Corsican culinary specialities.

Pulenta (Corsican bread made from chestnut flour, water and salt).
Migliacci (savoury dishes made with chestnut flour and goat's or ewe's cheese).
Canistrelli (sweet, dry, brittle biscuits). It takes 3 kilos of chestnuts to make one kilo of flour.

Since 2006, Corsican chestnut flour has benefited from an AOC label guaranteeing the origin of the fruit, unique know-how and a distinctive flavour.

Corsican chestnut furniture

If the fruit of this tree is renowned, so is its wood among cabinet-makers and furniture enthusiasts. Hard and resistant, chestnut wood is just as good for building frameworks, floors, doors and shutters as it is for mill wheels, barrels and furniture (tables, chairs, cupboards, chests, etc.).

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