Hiking the Cinque Terre

 

Before arriving in Cinque Terre, we knew from blog posts we had read that we should expect some of the hiking trails on the Blue Path - the route that makes up Cinque Terre’s best-known hikes - would be closed. We learned these hikes, which are near sea level, are prone to landslides and are frequently shut down for maintenance and repair.

But we didn't expect that, due to an exceptionally wet spring, only one of the Blue Path trails (Vernazza to Monterosso) would be open during our stay.

But no biggie! We were more excited about the high-elevation Red Path trails anyway. On the Red Path we were able to take in pretty much the entire length of the Cinque Terre, with the exception of the distance from Riomaggiore to Manarola (which we passed on in favour of adding the hikes at the far ends, Riomaggiore to Porto Venere and Monterosso to Levanto).

The routes we took are outlined in the following blog posts. If you read the posts in the order they were published, you’ll notice we didn’t hike the trail in a linear order. This was because we chose the routes we would take each day based on the weather - longer, more strenuous hikes on nice days, and easier, more popular hikes on rainy days. I’ve rearranged the posts in the list below from north to south so that it makes more sense linearly.

Lavanto to Monterosso, Day 5
Trail: SVA
Time: 2.5 hours
Distance: 7km
Maximum elevation: 360m at College di Bagari

Vernazza to Monterosso, Day 4
Trail: SVA
Time: 2 hours
Distance: 3km

Corniglia to Vernazza via Cigolette, Day 1
Trail: 587 > AV5T > 507
Time: 3 hours
Distance:  ~6km
Maximum elevation: 607m at Cigolette

Corniglia to Manarola via Volastra, Day 2
Trail: 587 > 586 > 506
Time: 3 hours
Maximum elevation: 453m

Riomaggiore to Porto Venere via Telegrafo, Day 3
Trail: 593 > AV5T
Time: 4.5 hours
Maximum elevation: 570m

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Lavanto to Monterosso

Trail: SVA
Time: 2.5 hours
Distance: 7km
Maximum elevation: 360m at College di Bagari

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Vernazza to Monterosso

Trail: SVA
Time: 2 hours
Distance: 3km

We woke up on our fourth day in Cinque Terre to cloudy skies. Knowing the rain was coming, we figured it would be a good day to hike from Vernazza to Monterosso - the only Blue Path trail that was open during our visit to Cinque Terre.

This was the one day - in five days of hiking the Cinque Terre - where it was worthwhile for us to purchase the Cinque Terre day pass as we rode the train twice and had to pay a fee to hike the Blue Path.

We took the train from Corniglia to Vernazza in the morning where we had brunch before hitting the trail.  As we expected, even though the weather wasn't great, this ended up being the busiest trail we hiked. Upon leaving Vernazza we found ourselves in a line of hikers which was pretty much the case for most of the hike. We were also repeatedly in situations where the trail was only wide enough for one person to pass and the traffic was bottlenecked in both directions. Because the trail was so busy, the hike ended up taking a full 2 hours, even though it was fairly short. In contrast, on other days we encountered very few hikers unless we were close to the villages.

Though I'm glad we got the chance to do a section of the Blue Path - which I understand is the most popular trail in the Cinque Terre - I can't say it was my fave hike. At that elevation, I couldn't see much of the coast and I wasn't a fan of all the waiting.

That said, the day did end on a very high note with what I think was my favourite meal of our trip at L'Osteria. Delicious!!

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore to Porto Venere via Telegrafo

Trails to follow: 593 > AV5T
Time: 4.5 hours
Maximum elevation:  570m

This hike ended up being our favourite of the five hikes we did along the Cinque Terre. That said, I'm not sure it technically qualifies as a Cinque Terre hike as only it starts at the southern end of the Cinque Terre (the rest of the hike is outside the park), but if you love hiking and find yourself in this region, I would encourage you not to miss it.

The route was a bit difficult to follow as the area is crisscrossed by a web of trails that lead to various small villages. Rather than than relying on the numbered trailer markers, we found it was easiest to follow the signs to the specific destinations we knew we would visit along the way - Telegrafo, Palestra nel Verde, and finally, Porto Venere.

There's a lot of variety on this trail, both in terms of views and elevation. The climb out of Riomaggiore is a bit steep in spots, but the trail levels out at Telegrafo then traverses a ridge for a bit. For most of this section of the trail, you're surrounded by trees, but don't worry, the money views are coming! After Campiglia we started to see glimpses of the long, though at times steep, descent into Porto Venere. From this point on, the sights got more and more breathtaking - beautiful sweeping views of the cliffs and glimpses of Porto Venere's lovely medieval architecture.

We took our time on this stretch to explore a number of side trails along the way and arrived in Porto Venere just in time to hop on the last boat to La Spezia where we caught the train back to our home base, Corniglia. An unforgettable day!

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Corniglia to Manarola via Volastra

Trails to follow: 587 > 586 > 506
Time: 3 hours
Maximum elevation: 453m

Our two favourite hikes on the Cinque Terre were both south of Corniglia - the hike from Corniglia to Manarola, and the hike from Riomaggore to Porto Venere. What made these hikes so great, was the long stretches of unobstructed views where you can take in pretty much the full stretch of the Cinque Terre coast. 

The hike starts with a not-too-strenuous climb out of Corniglia that levels out about half-way to Volastra. A fair bit of the trail is through vineyards, and we saw signs to numerous wineries along the way. Volastra is a popular spot to stop to enjoy a glass of wine and the views. Leaving Volastra, there was another short climb and then some pretty level hiking until just before Manarola where there's a very steep decent into town.

Manorola ended up being Baasje's favourite Cinque Terre village, so instead of continuing on with another hike (as we'd originally planned), we spent the rest of the day exploring it's alleyways and shops and sampling Liguria wine.

Hiking the Cinque Terre: Corniglia to Vernazza via Cigolette

Trails to follow: 587 > AV5T > 507
Time: 2.5 hours
Distance:  ~6km
Maximum elevation: 607m at Cigolette

We woke up on our first morning in Cinque Terre to pretty steady rain. Not exactly how we wanted to start our vacation, but we were also still a little worn out from the long flight the day before and admittedly, it was probably a pretty good day to take it easy. Over a late brunch, we decided to tackle what we figured to be the less-scenic of the 2 trails we were wanting to do starting in Corniglia - Corniglia to Vernazza via Cigolette.

Our assumptions turned out to be correct for the first half of the trail, leaving Corniglia we took the 587 up to the AV5T (the Red Path) which was a pretty lengthy climb through forest. There weren't many views. In a few spots, if we turned around we were able to get a peek at the coast, but for the most part, we were completely surrounded by trees - which, on the flip side, had the benefit of providing protection from the rain.

After reaching Cigolette we began a steep decent into Vernazza via San Bernardino. We were rewarded with some impressive views on this part of the route, but the trade-off was that the rocky, slippery trail was a bit treacherous. We had read somewhere that tackling the trail in the direction from Corniglia to Vernazza is the better choice, but when it's raining, I'd suggest going in the other direction which I believe is safer.

We spent about an hour or so, exploring the streets and sites of Vernazza before getting into line for dinner at Il Pirata delle Cinque Terre. This ended up being one of our favourite meals of the trip. We had to wait for about 45 minutes as it's one of the more popular spots in town, but it was well worth it. The staff was very friendly and the food was exceptionally delicious (especially the desserts!)
 

Cannoli at Il Pirata della 5 Terre