PNRC refuge
Ascu Stagnu refuge
The Ascu Stagnu refuge sits in the heart of the Haut-Asco station at 1,420 m — one of the few points on the GR20 reachable by road. It's the foot of the big alpine stage to the Pointe des Éboulis.
Essentials
The essentials
Key facts
- Altitude · 1,420 m
- Distance · km 24 from Calenzana
- On the trail · Between Carrozzu and Tighjettu
- Capacity · 36 places + tent pitches
- Coordinates · 42.4035, 8.9223
- Management · PNRC · staffed refuge
Book this refuge
Bedding: dorm bunk, PNRC tent or bivouac (subject to availability).
Booking is compulsory on the Park's official system, by date and place. Refuges are staffed from 16 May to 4 October 2026.
A sleeping bag is required (no blankets provided); meals are ordered from the warden, not online.
On the ground
The refuge on the ground
Its roadside location makes it a valuable resupply point and escape route. You recover here (hot shower, bivouac) before taking on the GR20's highest point at 2,607 m the next day.
Reachable by road: a resupply point and possible escape route.
The station is also the start of the normal route up Monte Cinto (2,706 m), Corsica's highest peak: an off-GR20 climb popular with those pausing here.
Facilities — indicative, confirm with the warden
Our traverse
Our night at Haut-Asco
We slept here at the end of day 3, arriving at 14h04. Packs down, the feeling was clear: a stage short on kilometres but rich in sensations — a touch of disappointment at the Spasimata footbridge, a lot of beauty afterwards, technical ground, bare rock, and a fine ridge before the final descent to Haut-Asco.
Our night, though, was not the most restorative of the traverse: our sloping bivouac pitch clearly worked against us. No matter — the next morning there was no lingering. Up in the dark, away at 05h08 towards the Pointe des Éboulis, with the light rising on the ridgelines and an incredible energy despite the short sleep. If you sleep here before the big alpine stage, choose your pitch carefully: it makes or breaks the night.
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