Thought Corsica was all about beaches? Think again, it’s one of Europe’s finest hiking destinations says Anna Richards in her guide to hiking in Corsica.
Corsica has done horrible things to my legs. I can point to different scars and name sections of the trails and mountains. Battle wounds, hard fought, they came with absolutely zero regrets.
Hiking in Corsica is something else. “Made for mountain goats” was my impression when I first landed here in 2021, ready to tackle the hard-hitter, the 112-mile GR20, legendary for being Europe’s ‘toughest’ hike. I thought myself fit, but the first four-hour uphill slog quickly humbled me. I’d imagined that mountains on a Mediterranean island would be softer than the Alps, but it’s quite the reverse. Where the Alps have had their corners rounded by ski tourism — chairlifts and ski slopes and chocolate box chalets — Corsica’s mountains have remained all but as impregnable as they would have been several centuries ago. Crumbling, uneven, so filled with shale that they constantly look on the brink of a landslide. Nature doesn’t do straight lines or neatness here, everywhere you look are breakneck drops and spectacular chaos.
Along the coast, you’re still hard pushed to find anything flat, but the undulating seaside paths reward you with frequent dips into isolated coves. Often, your fellow hikers will be cows that wander freely on the cliff paths. Not all of the hikes are long, or particularly technical, but most of them will put a burn in your thighs.
Ditch the flip-flops or plastic jelly shoes, these trails are worth lacing up your hiking boots for.
The Customs Trail
In 1769, Corsica was annexed to France. The Corsicans had no say in the matter, and Corsican patriotism still runs strong more than 250 years later. Geographically, Corsica has always been resisting France, shaped like an index finger pointing accusingly northwards at its would-be colonisers. It’s just surprising it’s not the middle finger.
This index finger, Cap Corse, has one of the most beautiful hiking trails on the island: the former customs trail. If you’re fit, you can tackle the whole lot in a day; the trail, whilst constantly climbing or descending, isn’t technical. Hiked in either direction, the path passes dozens of beaches. Some of them, like Tamarone, have beach bars and restaurants. Others are picked over only by seabirds and wild-looking cows.
Start/end point: Macinaggio/Centuri
Length: 12 miles one way
Time required: One day
Piana Panoramas
This 5-mile trail is well-marked and well-trodden, but is very much a there-and-back hike, contrary to what some user uploaded routes on popular walking apps will tell you (I found myself on a cliff edge trying to follow a supposed circular walk on Visorando). Everything is rust-coloured: the trail, the surrounding cliffs, even the 17 century Genoese tower. Inside the tower, you can climb up several storeys to get sweeping views over the headland and burnt-looking cliffs, contrasting in colour with the sea like red and blue poster paints.
The final section up to the tower is much more of a scramble than the rest of the trail, and can be slippery in bad weather. Take plenty of water, it’s extremely arid and in hot weather the temperatures feel furnace-like to match the red dust. There’s a snack bar in the car park you start from, but other than that barely a dribble of water, even from streams.
Start/end point: A guardiola buvette, Piana – Length: 5 miles there and back – Time required: 3 ½ hours
The GR20
Sometimes, the GR20 is more like bouldering than hiking. Crossing the spine of the island, this challenging route has almost 42,000 ft of elevation gain and loss. If you want to make the going a little easier on yourself, there are refuges at each stage, but book well in advance. The GR20’s reputation as Europe’s toughest trek means it’s hugely popular. If camping, you’ll still need to pay to pitch your tent by a refuge. Wild camping is forbidden.
Many people underestimate the GR20, and the dropout rate is high. It’s not a tricky trail to follow, each section is incredibly well waymarked, but the ascents and descents are relentless and can last several hours. Weather is another complication, with snow possible even in the summer, and winds so strong they can knock you off your feet. The steepest sections of trail have iron pins in the cliff face or cables to help you along, but a head for heights helps.
The rewards? Raw, craggy, wild views for days on end. And endless bragging rights.
Start/end point: Calenzana/Conca – Length: 112 miles thru-hike – Time required: 14-16 days
The Postman’s Trail
Girolata’s postman’s eyes would have fallen out of their head to learn that in the 21st century we communicate with people on the other side of the world at the push of a button. Here it took them two hours just to deliver a letter to the next village.
Scandola Nature Reserve is Corsica’s only UNESCO-listed site, a watery web of caves, inlets and cliffs. It’s supposed to be best explored by boat, but for two consecutive years, I spent several days in Porto, the base for Scandola trips, waiting for the sea to calm enough for the boats to head out. Luck wasn’t on my side, so instead, I set off on the postie’s trail to the cream-coloured hamlet of Girolata on the edge of Scandola, only accessible on foot or by sea. The tiny place has palm trees, muddy backwaters and a headland fort dating from the 16th century, and is well worth the plod.
Start/end point: Osani – Length: 4 miles there and back – Time required: 4 hours
Bunkers and Bonifacio
Bonifacio has become Corsica’s poster child, and it’s easy to see why. The town hangs on the top of 230 ft high cliffs, gazing out over Sardinia, and it looks as though just an inch of coastal erosion could send the whole thing tumbling into the sea.
Walk east along the clifftop from Bonifacio, and you’ll go past WW2-era bunkers, many now covered in colourful graffiti. A steep track down to sea level then takes you to a skylight in the roof of a cave, Grotte Saint-Antoine, where you can watch the waves ebb and flow on the cave floor below. Time your walk back for sunset, and you’ll see the sun dipping behind Bonifacio, creating a silhouette of the buildings on the cliff.
Start/end point: Bonifacio – Length: 5.5 miles there and back – Time required: 4 hours
Corsica tourism: visitcorsica.com/en
Anna Richards is a writer & guidebook author living in Lyon. Her work has appeared in Lonely Planet, National Geographic and many more.
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