Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre

Itineraries

Trekking Itineraries

1st Itinerary: Volastra Ring-route

Departure	Manarola
Arrival	Corniglia
Difference in height	300 meters
Trail marker	trail n. 6 / 6D / 7A /
Walking time	3 - 4 hours
Difficulty	E
Stops	Welcome structures in Manarola and in the other villages of Cinque Terre

From Manarola, and exactly from via Roma, follow the main road of the village born from the covering of rio Groppo, working as a collection drain of the picturesque alleys. After leaving the asphalt road, go along a trail lapping cultivated lands, vegetable gardens, pergolas, an aedicula dedicated to the Virgin Mary, irrigation ditches, until you will meet again the carriage road you will follow on the left for a few dozen meters. A flight of steps climbs zigzagging to the houses of Volastra. Once you reach the Sanctuary of N.S. della Salute, go ahead along the vineyards on the hillsides. Admiring the panorama, you will see below, eastwards, the multicolored village of Manarola. Walking under the SP road of the Sanctuaries you will go through the terraces suspended over the sea, thanks to which you will understand how much the wine produced in "vertical lands" is the result of toil. Fortunately, the rite of grapes collection, repeating year after year, is nowadays made easier by the use of typical monorail trains.
Above Corniglia, mixed woods of chestnut tree, ilex, and maritime pine dominate. From the trail 6/d, once you begin the descent, take the trail 7/a leading to the beautiful Church of San Pietro, in Corniglia, lying on the argillite folds of Complesso di Canetolo (300 m). At this point, you can take the train to go back to Manarola or you can walk along the trail leading to Manarola in about one hour, among tree spurges and a great variety of species.

2nd Itinerary: Sentiero Azzurro

Departure	Riomaggiore
Arrival	Monterosso
Difference in height	500 meters up, and the same down
Trail marker	white and blue rectangle
Walking time	5 - 6 hours
Difficulty	M

Sentiero Azzurro links Cinque Terre one to the other, and is the most known and appreciated hiking trail because it is nearly flat and at the same time offers breathtaking views. The route corresponds with the Trail n. 2 of CAI from La Spezia, from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, for a total length of about 12 kilometers. The firsts stretch, linking Riomaggiore to Manarola, is the famous "Via dell'Amore" (Love Trail), unforgettable if gone through at the sunset: it offers a wonderful view over the coastal sandstones and Punta Mesco promontory. This trail is suitable for everyone, and is about 1 km long. Along the trail you will often see the Tree Spurge, a particular plant loosing its leaves in summer. You will get to Manarola (2 km) in about half an hour. Leaving the village, you will find the trail to Manarola near Punta Buonfiglio. Here there is a small chapel, once used by farmers as shelter and today by visitors as a rest place. It is advisable to reach Corniglia by following the alternative trail "Via delle Trasparenze Marine" which was inaugurated on 27/6/2000, along a beach with long and narrow pebbles. After Corniglia (2,8 km) go ahead towards Vernazza, by following a small trail among vineyards and dry-stone walls.
Among terracing and olive groves you will reach Località di Prevo (maximum height of the route, 220 meters), from where you will rapidly go down to the sea village (3,4 km). The last stretch between Vernazza and Monterosso (3,8 km) is also very beautiful: the trail follows the hillside offering a great view and constantly following the whole route.
Note: it is advisable to wear sports clothing and trekking shoes. Some stretches of the trail require particular attention.

Trails - Trekking

Download the pdf files (Italian text) of the trails in Cinque Terre

Trail 1-1 (1,8 Mb)	Portovenere - Campiglia	Difficulty: moderate	Km 4,8	2h 15'
Trail 1-2 (2,0 Mb)	Campiglia - Telegrafo	Difficulty: easy	Km 3,2	1h
Trail 1-3 (2,4 Mb)	Telegrafo - Crossroads 01 and 02	Difficulty: easy	Km 3	1h
Trail 1-4 (2,3 Mb)	From crossroads 01 to crossroads 7	Difficulty: easy	Km 3	1h
Trail 1-5 (2,3 Mb)	Crossroads 7 - Mt. Malpertuso	Difficulty: easy	Km 2,8	50'
Trail 1-6 (2,2 Mb)	Mt. Malpertuso - Crossroads 9	Difficulty: easy	Km 4,5	3h
Trail 1-7 (2,0 Mb)	Crossroads 9 - S. Antonio	Difficulty: easy	Km 2	45'
Trail 1-8 (2,1 Mb)	From crossroads 9 to Levanto	Difficulty: easy	Km 4	2h
Trail 02 (2,0 Mb)	Manarola - Sella Mt. Galera	Difficulty: intermediate	Km 3,8	2h 30'
Trail 3 (2,2 Mb)	Riomaggiore - Telegrafo	Difficulty: easy	Km 4,5	1h 45'
Trail 4b (1,9 Mb)	From Campiglia to Galleria Biassa	Difficulty: intermediate	Km 2,7	2h 30'
Trail 4d (1,8 Mb)	S. Antonio - Monesteroli	Difficulty: intermediate	Km 2,2	2h
Trail 6 (2,2 Mb)	Manarola - Sella di Monte Marvede	Difficulty: moderate	Km 3,7	2h 15'
Trail 7 (2,3 Mb)	Vernazza - Cigoletta	Difficulty: moderate	Km 3	1h 30'
Trail 7a (2,0 Mb)	Corniglia - Cigoletta	Difficulty: easy	Km 2,8	1h 40'
Trail 7b (1,9 Mb)	Corniglia - Cigoletta	Difficulty: moderate	Km 3	2h
Trail 8 (1,9 Mb)	Vernazza - Fonte Drignana	Difficulty: moderate	Km 2,5	1h 30'
Trail 8a-8b (2,2 Mb)	N.S. di Reggio - N.S. di Soviore	Difficulty: intermediate	Km 4	2h 30'
Trail 9 (1,9 Mb)	Monterosso - Soviore	Difficulty: easy	Km 2,5	1h 30'
Trail 10 (1,9 Mb)	Monterosso - S. Antonio al Mesco	Difficulty: intermediate	Km 2	1h
Trail 11 (1,6 Mb)	Campiglia - Punta Persico	Difficulty: moderate	Km 1,3	40'

Bikes and Mountain Bikes

In some places situated in the intermediate - high altimetric areas where you can get to with by using the Park means of transport, you can hire bikes or horses and be led by valid guides. An original tour among ilex tree woods and pinewoods can be carried out on a horse-drawn carriage.

Further information (Italian text)

Horses and Carriage

In Case Pianca, above Corniglia, in the medium-high altimetric strip of Cinque Terre, where you can get by using the Park means of transport, you can rent horses for pleasant tours along trails and dirt roads, crossing ilex and pine woods and enjoying enchanting panoramic views over the coast.
Along the trails, you will have the opportunity to stop and taste the local dishes and DOC wines produced with the grapes cultivated in the vineyards overhanging the sea and spend the night in the guest house of an ancient Sanctuary or in the accommodation structures situated in the Park area.

Further information (Italian text)

The Trail of the Sanctuaries

In Cinque Terre, an unusual and exciting itinerary along the trail of the Sanctuaries

From the first summits of the inland, five ancient sanctuaries watch over the coastal towns.
Here, for centuries, the inhabitants of Cinque Terre have gathered to prey.
The trail running across the hillside and linking these places of worship is a real trekking offering meetings with history and charming landscapes.
The itinerary climbing from Riomaggiore to the Sanctuary of Montenero coincides with the ancient trail (no. 3) leading towards Telegrafo and Portovenere.
After climbing across the town, you will climb along a steep valley, pass under the road to Manarola and then on the right (for about one hour and fifteen minutes) to the Sanctuary of Montenero (354 meters), where you will find a guest house managed by Cinque Terre Park.

Further information (Italian text)

Underwater Itineraries in Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area

The "Panettone" (Italian text)
The immersion takes place in the first inlet of Punta di Montenero which you will find leaving from Riomaggiore.
You will descend on the pebbly seabed at about 9 meters of depth, and then, following the wall towards the east, you will go ahead until you reach a 3-meter high pinnacle, completely covered by polychrome gorgonians.
The Way of Love (Italian text)
You will dive under the underwater cameras of the Batteria Racchia, on a 15-meter detrital seabed, and then you will follow the slightly degrading profile perpendicularly to the coast. When you reach the 18 meters, you will find a deep slope leading in a short time in front of the rocky wall of the lobsters, characterized by the many gorgonians covering it.
Corniglia Landslide (Italian text)
You will descend a landslide just outside the marine of Corniglia.
The immersion is quite, in very clear water, and reaches a maximum depth of 18 meters. The number of fissures of the landslide offer shelter to curious Mediterranean morays and big conger eels, small lobsters and mullets.

Underwater Itinerary for Disabled Persons

Accessible Trails

Ente Parco delle Cinque Terre, with the aim to make the whole protected area accessible for everyone, has decided to face the challenge and give the opportunity also to disabled persons to dive and look for the sea beauties, launching a unique initiative in the field: an equipped itinerary will be active from summer 2006. The suggested itinerary lies near Monterosso, the last village of Cinque Terre, and has been studied to offer a reference point to disabled or visually impaired visitors: it consists of a rope supported by 60 cm high stakes, so that the person can hold to this rope without impacting on the seabed with his/her equipment.
It may seem that people having problems to move or to see (blind or visually impaired) are not interested at first in wearing diving suit, dispenser, gav, flippers and anything else you need to dive; however, being lifted by the absence of gravity in water make movements easier for the former, while the latter have no fear to fall by stumbling over an obstacle. Moreover, they will be happy to discover the seabed of Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area. As a matter of fact, from a biological point of view, the site is representative of the environments you can find at low depths: the rocky seabed, the sandy seabed, and the Posidonia bed.

Further information (Italian text)

Some images of the Underwater Itinerary for Disabled Persons