PNRC refuge
Tighjettu refuge
Clinging to the slope at 1,700 m, the large Tighjettu refuge (48 places) welcomes hikers just after the descent from the GR20's highest point. The Ballone sheepfold, twenty minutes below, rounds out the stage.
Essentials
The essentials
Key facts
- Altitude · 1,700 m
- Distance · km 36 from Calenzana
- On the trail · Between Ascu Stagnu and Ciottulu di i Mori
- Capacity · 48 beds + bivouac
- Coordinates · 42.3623, 8.9088
- 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
You arrive worn out from the most alpine stage of the route. Shower, shop and a hot meal await; it's one of the biggest PNRC refuges on the trail, handy in high season when beds run short.
This timber refuge stands on stilts on the mountainside, around 1,680 m; you now reach it via the route opened in 2016 that replaced the Cirque de la Solitude.
Facilities — indicative, confirm with the warden
Our traverse
Passing through
We only passed through here, on 21 August 2025, in the middle of the descent from the Pointe des Éboulis. The fatigue of the climb made the descent nervy: the scree never let up, the footing stayed unstable — and I had just twisted my ankle right after the summit, in a moment of euphoria. More fear than harm thanks to Benjamin's anti-inflammatories, but we fully understood the hikers dropping their packs here.
Our goal, though, was not to stop at Tighjettu: under a big sun, we carried on twenty minutes further down to the Ballone bergerie, where arriving felt like a real reward — that kind of day isn't measured in kilometres, but in tension, concentration, and relief once the pack is down. Finishing here spares you that last descent; we wanted to bank a little extra ground for the days ahead.
Locate