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   708 Euros per person (double room) 
  selfguided inn to inn walking trip - 7 days, 6 nights, 5 days of walking
 

PRICE
The price includes the moving on of baggage between hotels, the dossier containing your maps, route notes and all necessary details needed for your holiday.
The price does not include: The evening meal on night 1 and 6. Entrance fees to sites, additional transfers, optional activities, drinks, picnics, bus tickets and holiday insurance.
Standard package:  6 guesthouses with double rooms.

H71       2010 Bags transfer included	B&B's	Dinners	Lunches	Basic rate p.p.: 2p sharing room	Supplement 1-person room	Solo all-in
7 days     Standard ** 2p double room	6	4	0	€ 708	€ 130	N.A.
Dinners in Corte	not included
supplement July-August p.p.	€ 5.= (for every night in July or August)
supplement extra night Ajaccio** p.p.	€ 60.= p.p. 2p sharing room			supplement July-September: € 15

Discount p.p. for groups and families See terms and conditions of group discounts H71 Parties of  3 persons : 01 % p.p. Parties of  4 persons : 02 % p.p. Parties of  5 persons : 03 % p.p. Parties of  6 persons : 04 % p.p. Parties of  7 persons : 05 % p.p. Parties of  8 persons : 06 % p.p.

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For booking this tour, please complete our booking form.

 LEVEL :
Hiking trip on good trails, without technical difficulties, but a good physical condition needed.
3 to 6 hours walking per day.
Difference in altitude: from +400 to +1070 m per day and from  -400 to -1070 per day.
altitude: the trip starts at 400 m and goes up to 2140 m. So the temperatures will be 30 celcius maximum at 400m altitude and down to 8 Celcius at 2140 m with  rainy weather.

 INCLUDED :  6 nights in hotels and chambres d'hôtes, 6 dinners (local specialties), 6 B&B (continental breakfast), all local transfers needed, baggage transports, a folder with maps and written instructions. Assistance when needed.
Not included: beverages, picnics (you can buy at the hotel; average 8€), all transfers not part of the program.

 STARTING PLACE AND END OF THE TRIP
Starting place: Railway station SNCF of Ajaccio.
Departure at 06:30, 08:51; (Sun- and holidays 09:19); arrival at Vizzavona after 65 minutes.
First day & time: any day at 14:30 hour. 
End of the hiking tour : busstation of Ajaccio, on friday 12:00 or 17:00h

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 Day by day program
 

 Day 1 Ajaccio to Vizzavona

Arrive in Ajaccio, you may well have time to wander around the vibrant coastal town of Ajaccio before the rendez-vous at 14h30 at the railway station.  We transfer by vehicle, or by train to Vizzavona, a tiny hamlet blotted in the middle of a splendid forest. After settling in to your accommodation there may be time to do a short walk.

Night and evening meal at hotel in Vizzavona.
3h00 effective walking, + 250m altitude,  -250m,  6km.

 Day 2: Bocca Palmente on the GR South

Vizzavona is the mid-way point for the GR20, the most reputed long distance mountain walk in Europe that runs diagonally across Corsica’s granite backbone.  Your starting point is already at high altitude  and the air is always fresh in this immense beech and pine forest.  The destination is the Col de Palmente, situated at 1645m,  the trail winds its way up through magnificent woodland, you are sure to pass some walkers on their first stage of the GR20 South section heading beyond the col to the refuge.  The col itself is an open saddle, a wonderful viewpoint from where you can enjoy fantastic panoramas, daunting mountain peaks and the flat eastern plains.  On a clear day you can see the sea and the large salt-water lagoons famed for their good oysters, not far off you have the islands of Elba and Monte Cristo.   Returning back into the forest, you retrace your steps a short distance before taking a turning that leads down through the forest to complete a great loop, an idyllic descent all the way back down to Vizzavona.

Night and evening meal at  hotel in Vizzavona.
5h30 effective walking, +880m altitude, -880m,  13km.

 Day 3: Vizzavona to St Pierre de Venaco

Vizzavona was once a popular resort for the English at the beginning of the century, there are some old buildings that were once grand  hotels, representing a former glory.  From the station you take the GR20 path towards the dazzling ‘Cascade des Anglais.’ You will discover the crystal clear, bubbly river Agnone, with its alluring rock pools and  dramatic waterfall.  At the end of the walk, a short train ride from Vizzavona to St Pierre de Venaco.  This single line train journey is quite spectacular,  the train is known locally as ‘the trembler’  It passes through numerous tunnels, twisting and turning endlessly back and forth in order to advance in this mountainous terrain.

 Night and evening meal at  hotel in St Pierre de Venaco.
5h15 effective walking, +570m altitude, -570m,  10km (possibility to extend the walk)

 Day 4: A circular walk to St Eliseo chapelle

From the village, a good mountain walk up to St Eliso chapel, a small site of pilgrimage.  The walk begins from the charming village of Santo Pietro-di-Venaco.   Larger than you would expect at first glance it is a village with a lot of charm.  In the village centre,  the proud church has a thick, beautifully engraved wooden door and the attractive village fountain  are the focal points.  Alleyways and narrow streets wind up through the houses, the village was at one time heavily populated, the Venachese region was an  important corridor for shepherds that followed  the rhythm of the transhumance.  They would drive their flocks up from the lower winter plains and coastal areas to the high fresh mountains for the summer.  Today’s walk is steep and challenging but it is very rewarding offering some  magical vistas of the valley below and the dominating mountain, the Monte-Cardo.  

Night and evening meal at hotel in St Pierre de Venaco.
6h00  effective walking, +1070m altitude, -1070m, 13km.

 Day 5:  St Pierre de Venaco to Corté

Each Corsican identifies very closely to his or her village and today’s walk will give an insight into rural village life.  You will discover a group of hilltop villages that  could easily be mistaken for a landscape in Tuscany.  Early morning there is  mist shrouding the base of these villages that gives  an enchanting mystic quality.  As you traverse through the villages you will discover some active, rural, working  communities, some wonderful traditional architecture, small close huddles of houses, paved village fountains sprouting fresh icy water, braying donkeys and howling dogs all make for an interesting passage through the Venechais to your destination, Corte.

Night and evening meal at hotel in Corte.
5h00  effective walking, +650m altitude, -890m, 12km. 

 Day 6: The Tavignano Gorge

Corte a walk in the Tavignano gorge, a stone path will lead you into the gorge amidst a heady, warm Mediterranean vegetation of blue, black island lavender, the curry plant and juniper.  The cliffs soar up above, deep below you can glimpse the pounding torrent with it’s numerous rock pools.  For centuries, this age-old path was the link of communication and access route into the very isolated Niolu region.   The towering granite cliffs have been beautifully sculpted by time, with clinging pine trees and rugged pinnacles all around, you will find the Tavignano gorge  a haven of wild beauty.  Your destination is a swing bridge that traverses the torrent a great swimming and picnic place with smooth sun baked rocks and inviting clear rock pools.

Night and evening meal at hotel in Corte.
5h00 effective walking, + 400m altitude,  -400m,  14km.

 Day 7: Corte to Ajaccio

Today, you have the option of returning to Ajaccio in the morning, or doing another walk and taking the train back in the afternoon.  From Corte there are numerous options possible, the glacier lakes in the Restonica gorge, the bandits arch, or the towns history trail.  Your holiday comes to end at the railway station back in Ajaccio.

For Booking this walk, surf to our booking page.

General information about Corsica

ACCESS :
By Air 
Direct charter flights during the season from Gatwick and Heathrow offered by Air France, British Midland. Contact Holiday Options or Sky Marketing. Scheduled services via Paris.  You can also change at Montpellier or Nice for connecting flights.

Accommodation:
These walking tours have a variety of accommodations: hotels, chambres d'hôtes and gîtes with dormitories. See the description of the different tours for the details.

In hotels you'll have bathroom en suite (budget and standard package).
In chambres d'hotes you'll have private rooms and sometimes bathroom en suite (standard package).
In gîtes you will sleep in dormitories (4 - 7 beds), so sometimes together with other walkers (budget package).

Weather:
June and September are the best months to walk on Corsica.

Books :
General (French) information  – tourism – gastronomie
- Corse, par A et F Rother (Arthaud)
- Guide Bleu de la Corse (Hachette)
- Guide pratique de la Corse par Olivier Jehasse (éditions de la Marge, Ajaccio)
- La bonne cuisine corse, par Christine Schapira (éditions Solar)
Geography – nature
- Parc naturel régional de la Corse, plantes et fleurs rencontrées, par Marcelle Conrad
- Roches et paysages de la Corse, par A. Gauthier (parc naturel régional et BRGM)
History – archeologie – art :
- Histoire de la Corse, par Michel Vergé Franceschi (éditions du Félin)
- Arts traditionnels de la Corse, par Loviconi (Edisud)

Practical information

Extra nights: in Ajaccio

Hôtel** Le Kallisté :+334 95 51 34 45   51, Cours Napoleon Ajaccio tel. 0495 513 445
Hôtel** Le Dauphin : +334 95 51 29 96
Hôtel*** Albion : +334 95 21 66 70
Hôtel*** San Carlu : +334 95 21 13 84
Chambre d'hôtes chez Madame Battini : +334 95 21 83 04

Supplementary nights in Corte

Hôtel de la Paix** : 0033 (0)4 95 46 06 72
Hôtel du Nord** : 0033 (0)4 95 46 00 68
Hôtel Les Jardins de la Glacière** : 0033 (0)4 95 45 27 00
Hôtel Dominique Colonna*** : 0033 (0)4 95 45 25 65