The Cinque Terre are known across Europe and beyond as one of the great areas of unspoiled coastline in Italy. The region, now a Regional Park, makes excellent walking country as there is a continuous coastal trail between the main towns that are perched on the waters edge. It is possible in one full day to walk from Levanto to Monterosso to Vernazza to Corniglia to Manarola and on to Riomaggiore. The famous signed route – path no. 2 – which leaves out the Levanto section is easily accomplished in a gentle day. The only easy way of making the return journey is by an improbable train route which links the towns or, in the main tourist season, by ferry. The roads are few and very narrow; some are also extremely precipitous.
Last October there was an extraordinary downpour in the area which washed out a lot of the villages of Monterosso and Vernazza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHyHu2leYv8&feature=related http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8855914/Italians-open-investigation-into-flooding-of-Cinque-Terre.html
but also took parts of the path with it. Now the route is closed with the exception of the tiny section that links Manarola to Riomaggiore, a mere ten minute stroll. If the authorities are not quick to put things back together they will lose all their visitors in 2012. The small businesses that need the visitors to survive will not make it through a barren year – there are funds to donate money if you wish to help.
The area deserves to be famous with its stunning perched villages and wonderful seascapes but the numbers of hikers that flock here each year is quite unreasonable. There are large numbers of French, German and American walkers all wanting to complete this “blue path”. Now they are being joined by the travellers from many Asian countries who have a huge appetite for western culture. A charge is levied to use the paths but this doesn’t stop queues forming to cross the narrower sections.
The walk is of medium length, the guidebooks all say five hours but a good walker could do it in three and a half without trouble. There is a lot of up and down in the sections between Monterosso and Vernazza and also between Vernazza and Corniglia. These paths rise 200-300m above the water before descending again to sea level and they use steps to achieve this altitude gain and loss. If you do not like the extensive climbing of steps then this is not necessarily the place to be.
The views are sublime and the villages punctuate both the vistas and the walks, acting as natural points for a break. The attraction for the walkers from across the world is obvious. More of them might however seek out a slightly more adventurous approach to the area and head higher up where a trail that tries hard to follow the ridge as it makes its way fro Levanto to the lovely village of Portovenere. There are plenty of links with the other villages but they involve some serious climbing up from the train stations – the ridge is between 600 and 700m above the sea in places. Hikers would find a completely different world up here, a world of farmers and calm green spaces with views that are equally dramatic in a different way.
Dinner in Bella Napoli in Rapallo. Very good pizza indeed – although these barn-like, cold Italian restaurants are not designed for winter weather!
Bella Napoli, corso Colombo 26, Rapallo
