Hiking Cinque Terre - Parts 1 & 2

Cinque Terre is a rugged coastline on the Italian Riviera composed of five beautiful hillside villages; Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. They are connected by hiking trails but can also be visited by train or by hop on hop off ferry. We hiked between all of the 5, completing 3 of 4 trails in one day and completing Corniglia to Manarola the next day, along with the Via Dell’ Amore supplemental trail. The routes were challenging but very picturesque and it was fun to explore, shop and eat or drink in each of the quaint villages. We were given a 2 day rail pass so started off today by taking the train to the furthest village, Monterosso, and working our way back to La Spezia. Monterosso is the largest of the five towns and has the only sandy beach in the area, making it a beach lovers paradise. We hiked as a group from Monterosso to Vernazza which was 4 kms and took about 90 minutes. From there we were free to make our way back by train or by hiking the coastline trail. Vernazza is probably the most picturesque of the villages and is named as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. It is a traditional fishing village with colorful typical Ligurian houses and boats bobbing on the waters of the small harbor. Anxious to explore further we hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia, which a bit more challenging and a bit further, taking us about another 2 hours. Corniglia is the only village which is not built directly on the sea, but on a cliff 100 metres above sea level. It is the smallest of the five villages and the least accessible. You have to climb 382 stairs to reach the village from the train station. Our initial plan was to hike between all 5 villages today but the coastal route from Corniglia to Manarola was closed and the interior route was said to be quite challenging so after grabbing some lunch and wandering around the village, we took the train to Manarola and picked the trail up there.Read more