Stage 2: Ortu di u Piobbu → Carozzu

6.5 km from Ortu di u Piobbu (bivouac) (1570 m) to Refuge de Carozzu (1270 m), with 650 m of ascent and 930 m of descent.

Walking time by fitness profile

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

On the trail

Don't be fooled by the 6.5 km on the signpost — this is a full mountain day, and the seven-hour walking time is honest. From Ortu di u Piobbu the trail climbs onto a long, serrated ridge and essentially stays there, weaving between granite towers, dipping through notches and hauling itself back up again. Your hands come out of your pockets early: this is where the GR20 teaches you that on Corsica, 'path' is sometimes a generous word for a line of paint across bare rock.

The compensation is a ridgeline theatre of orange spires and plunging valleys, with the sea glinting off to the west whenever the rock lets you lift your eyes. The final act is a steep, knee-testing descent through pine forest to Refuge de Carozzu, tucked into its wooded bowl at 1,270 m — one of the prettiest refuge settings on the whole trail. The terrace, the evening light on the cliffs above, and the knowledge that you have survived day two: dinner rarely tastes better. Watch your footing when the granite is wet, and keep snacks handy — there is nowhere to linger on the ridge.

Start / end

About this stage

Stage 2 links Ortu di u Piobbu (bivouac) (1570 m) with Refuge de Carozzu (1270 m) over 6.5 km, climbing 650 m and descending 930 m. This stage lies in the northern half of the GR20 (before Vizzavona), the rockier and more technical part of the trail. Water is available at every stop on this stage.