Walking in Italy's Cinque Terre
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WALKING IN ITALY’S CINQUE TERRE About the Author Gillian Price has trekked throughout Asia and the Himalayas but now lives WALKING IN in Venice and is exploring the mountains and flatter bits of Italy and the Mediterranean. Starting with the Italian Dolomites, Gillian has written out- ITALY’S CINQUE TERRE standing Cicerone guides to walking all over Italy as well as Corfu and Corsica. An adamant promoter of the use of public transport to minimise environmental impact, she is an active member of the Italian Alpine Club MONTEROSSO AL MARE, VERNAZZA, CORNIGLIA, CAI. Check her out at www.gillianprice.eu. MANAROLA AND RIOMAGGIORE Other Cicerone guides by the author by Gillian Price Across the Eastern Alps: E5 Walking and Trekking on Corfu Alpine Flowers Walking in Corsica Italy’s Sibillini National Park Walking in Italy’s Stelvio Shorter Walks in the Dolomites National Park The Tour of the Bernina Walking in Sicily Through the Italian Alps – Walking in the Dolomites the GTA Walking in Tuscany Trekking in the Alps (contributor) Walking in Umbria Trekking in the Apennines – Walking on the Amalfi Coast the GEA Walking Lake Como and Maggiore Trekking in the Dolomites Walking Lake Garda and Iseo Walking and Trekking in Walks and Treks in the JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, Gran Paradiso Maritime Alps OXENHOLME ROAD, KENDAL, CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk © Gillian Price 2019 CONTENTS First edition 2019 ISBN: 978 1 85284 973 3 Map key ..........................................................7 Printed in China on behalf of Latitude Press Ltd Overview Map .....................................................8 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. INTRODUCTION .................................................11 Exploring the Cinque Terre ...........................................12 Route mapping by Lovell Johns www.lovelljohns.com Walking .........................................................17 Contains OpenStreetMap.org data © OpenStreetMap Plants and flowers .................................................19 contributors, CC-BY-SA. NASA relief data courtesy of ESRI Wildlife .........................................................20 Getting there and getting around ......................................21 Information .......................................................22 Dedication When to go ......................................................23 Accommodation ...................................................23 As well as my special companion Nicola, I was very fortunate to enjoy the Food and drink ....................................................24 company of dear Alison in the Cinque Terre. Her enthusiasm never flagged even What to take ......................................................26 when faced with endless flights of steep steps that always seemed to go uphill. Maps ...........................................................26 (Could it have been the promise of gelato?) Dos and don’ts ....................................................27 Emergencies ......................................................29 Using this guide ...................................................30 Updates to this Guide WALKS ..........................................................31 Walk 1 Levanto to Monterosso .....................................32 While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guidebooks Walk 2 Monterosso via Colla di Gritta circuit ..........................36 as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edition. Any Walk 3 Monterosso to Vernazza via the sanctuaries .....................41 updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone website (www. Walk 4 Monterosso to Vernazza on the SVA ...........................45 cicerone.co.uk/973/updates), so please check before planning your trip. Walk 5 Vernazza to Corniglia on the SVA ............................49 We also advise that you check information about such things as transport, Walk 6 Corniglia via Cigoletta and San Bernardino to Vernazza ............53 accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way can be altered over time. Walk 7 Corniglia via Volastra to Manarola ............................58 The route maps in this guide are derived from publicly available data, Walk 8 Manarola panoramic loop ..................................63 databases and crowd-sourced data. As such they have not been through the Walk 9 Manarola to Riomaggiore on Via Beccara .......................66 detailed checking procedures that would generally be applied to a published Walk 10 Riomaggiore high circuit ...................................70 map from an official mapping agency, although naturally we have reviewed them Walk 11 Riomaggiore low circuit ....................................74 closely in the light of local knowledge as part of the preparation of this guide. Walk 12 Riomaggiore to Porto Venere ................................77 We are always grateful for information about any discrepancies between Walk 13 Campiglia circuit via Monesteroli and Fossola ...................83 a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by email to updates@cicerone. Walk 14 Punta Persico ............................................87 co.uk or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Walk 15 Porto Venere and Monte Muzzerone ..........................90 Kendal, LA9 7RL. Walk 16 Palmaria island circuit .....................................93 Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers and GPX files where available, register your book at www.cicerone.co.uk. Appendix A Village maps .........................................98 Appendix B Route summary table .................................102 Appendix C Useful information ...................................103 Front cover: A marvellous panoramic point overlooking the southern side of Vernazza Appendix D Glossary ...........................................104 (Walk 5) Appendix E Accommodation .....................................106 Riomaggiore is a long way below (Walk 11) MAP KEY Symbols used on route maps route Relief in metres alternative route start point 1000–1200 800–1000 finish point 600–800 start/finish point 400–600 route direction 200–400 woodland 0–200 urban areas station/railway SCALE: 1:50,000 peak 0 kilometres 0.5 1 building 0 miles 0.5 church/monastery/cross Contour lines are castle or tower drawn at 25m intervals and highlighted at pass 100m intervals. bus stop ferry ferry route tourist info car park other feature GPX files for all routes can be downloaded free at www.cicerone.co.uk/973/GPX. 6 7 WALKING IN ITALY’S CINQUE TERRE OVERVIEW MAP Framura to Genoa Beverino Castello Montale Bolano Bonassola Pignone Levanto Chiesanuova Santo Stefano 1 di Magra Piano di Follo to Graveglia Parma Riccò del 234 Golfo di Spezia Monterosso Vezzano al Mare 5 Ligure Vernazza Sarbia 67 Ponte di Corniglia Arcola to Pisa Arcola ManarolaManarola Ressora LA 89 SPEZIA Riomaggiore Fabiano Romito Magra Alto LIGURIAN !#$ Cerri SEA Acquasanta Muggiano Pugliola Il Pianello San Terenzo %& Lerici Campiglia Le Grazie Gulf of La Spezia Tellaro N ( Porto Venere ) 0 2 4 Palmaria km 8 9 WManarolaALKING IN has ITALY a magnificent’S CINQUE T settingERRE INTRODUCTION The seafront of Riomaggiore is a celebrated spot around sunset Pastel coloured villages are wedged We’re talking about a mere 12km of into dizzy rock promontories over rugged coast that is home to glid- the sparkling sea, defying gravity. ing seagulls and the ‘Famous Five’. Between them, row upon row of There’s nowhere else like it, and it is man-made terraces appear to cascade duly recognised with UNESCO World down vertiginous mountainsides. Heritage Site status. Neck-craningly steep paths lead to So what exactly are the Cinque spectacular lookouts that take your Terre? And why do people flock here breath away. Secluded coves with tur- from all over the globe? The ‘five quoise water are the reward for ven- lands’ as they translate literally, cor- turing down hundreds of knee-chal- respond to the villages of Monterosso, lenging stone steps. Brilliant carpets of Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Mediterranean wildflowers add to the Riomaggiore. Nowadays the Cinque irresistible charm, as does the superb Terre are home to around 4400 resi- cuisine based on locally grown olives dents in all, many of whom work in and wine. This is Liguria in north west tourism. Starting in the late Middle Italy, and these are the Cinque Terre. Ages they were built up bit by bit 10 11 WALKING IN ITALY’S CINQUE TERRE EXPLORING THE CINQUE TERRE around narrow steep arpaie stair- EXPLORING THE CINQUE TERRE THE TERRACED LANDSCAPE ways and carrugi alleys suitable for In addition to the five principal vil- donkeys and people. Every available lages and hinterland which come With the exception of Monterosso, the Cinque Terre were traditionally agri- scrap of land was exploited for the under the protection of the Parco cultural rather than being oriented towards fishing. Over the centuries some tower-like houses constructed one Nazionale Cinque Terre (www. 2000 hectares (65% of the total land) of the outrageously steep hillsides atop the other. Their coastal loca- parconazionale5terre.it) this guide- from the water’s edge up to 400m above sea level have been crafted into tion set them up as vulnerable tar- book includes neighbouring settle- immaculate terracing with cian or strips of arable land, by generation upon gets for