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!)
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| Cannoli at Il Pirata della 5 Terre |
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