Trekking in the Cinque Terre, an easy two-day walk from Vernazza to Monterosso, up to Riomaggiore and Manarola, read the post.
Le Cinque Terre are a truly splendid area of ​​Liguria, everyone knows the views, the beaches and the five characteristic small towns that arise there.
It is a jagged and suggestive stretch of coast of the Ligurian Riviera, where these five villages or, as they used to say, cinque terre, or Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola e Riomaggiore, since 1997 have become part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
What perhaps not everyone knows is that these Cinque Terre are crossed by a dense network of paths, both coastal and inland.
And don't immediately think about the effort, the views that you will see if you walk them will be so beautiful that you will not even remember the effort.
There are a whole series of internal paths, in the middle of the woods and vineyards, and the most famous paths on the coast, which will allow you to touch all the five locations, if you want in one day.
Personally, I recommend you split the trekking in two days, to better enjoy the villages and, above all, their gastronomic products. And you will see that the walks will seem even more pleasant if they have a nice typical Ligurian dish waiting for you at their end.
Assuming you do the entire route from the paths on the coast, it should take about five hours total to go from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. However, it should be considered that part of the coastal path, the so-called "Via dell'Amore”, Has been closed for some time, for security reasons.
I therefore recommend that you make a mix between coastal paths and more internal paths and, I guarantee you, it will be a pleasure for the eyes.
The views that can be observed from many points of the routes are unique and very suggestive. The trails vary in height and difficulty (low to medium), but are all doable for a normal person, from the 3 70 years, and in normal / good physical shape. However, as always in these cases, I advise you to wear comfortable shoes and to pay due attention to where you will put your feet.
I therefore suggest you to articulate your Cinque Terre trekking over two days, of splendid sunshine I hope for you, starting from Monterosso and up to Corniglia on the stretch of coast, then move on to the internal paths from Corniglia to Riomaggiore. Should you get bored halfway through or find yourself tired, I inform you that there are very convenient regional trains that frequently connect the five locations. And don't worry about getting lost in the internal paths, there are information points in the villages where they will give you handy maps, in any case the paths are marked and you will always find other hikers like you.
For me the best program, which I have tested, is the following.
Day 1 of Trekking
Breakfast a Monterosso al Mare, stop on the beach and take a bath, if the weather permits. Then mid-morning departure from Monterosso for the coastal trekking up to Vernazza, where you can eat excellent Ligurian focaccia and maybe a bag of fried seafood. I recommend you go to the Vernazza beach to have lunch on the shore, then maybe there will also be a nap before the second stretch.
Early afternoon departure from Vernazza and coastal trekking up to Corniglia, where you will arrive ready for the aperitif / dinner.
Day 2 of Trekking
At this point, after an excellent breakfast in Corniglia, you can leave for your internal trekking up to Manarola, in the morning, and then until Riomaggiore, in the afternoon, where you will arrive for the sunset. The setting will change slightly from coastal trekking, and you will find yourself immersed in beautiful vineyards and blue skies.
The Cinque Terre are one more beautiful than the other, a perfect destination for a long weekend.
