Stage 15: Asinau → Paliri

13.5 km from Asinau (bivouac/tent) (1530 m) to Refuge d'I Paliri (1055 m), with 800 m of ascent and 1250 m of descent.

Walking time by fitness profile

Times computed with the RandoNav planning algorithm. Breaks not included.

On the trail

This is the stage that ends up on the postcards. From Asinau the trail contours out of the valley and the Aiguilles de Bavella take over the sky — a chaos of red-orange granite towers that looks transplanted from the Dolomites. At the fork, you choose your adventure: the standard route swings below the needles through pine and maquis via the Foce Finosa, spectacular enough for most tastes, while the Alpine variant (double yellow waymarks) climbs right in among the towers, with a chain-assisted slab or two — harder, wilder, and worth it in dry, settled weather.

Both options touch the Col de Bavella, where a village of auberges suddenly supplies cold drinks, proper meals and a shop; it's a strange, wonderful shock to sit at a restaurant table in trail-stained clothes with the needles glowing overhead. Then the GR20 slips back into the wild for the final descent to Refuge de Paliri at 1,055 m, a small, end-of-the-world refuge with the best sunset view of the trip: Bavella's towers burning red above, the sea somewhere below, and one last morning to come.

Start / end

Stops along the way

These places between the endpoints let you split the stage into shorter days:

About this stage

Stage 15 links Asinau (bivouac/tent) (1530 m) with Refuge d'I Paliri (1055 m) over 13.5 km, climbing 800 m and descending 1250 m. This stage lies in the southern half of the GR20 (after Vizzavona), which is greener and slightly gentler than the north. One stop punctuates the route, so you can split this stage into shorter days. Water is available at every stop on this stage. Full resupply (shop) is possible at Bavella (Auberge/Col).