Hiking from Levanto to Monterosso and then hiking from Monterosso to Vernazza
We flew to Milan on an evening flight, stayed in a hotel near the train station and and then took the early train from Milano Centrale to Levanto. We stayed in a lovely small hotel in Levanto as our base for our four day trip in Cinque Terre. We were happy with this choice as it was less crowded than the popular CT villages and only a few minutes away from CT by train.
My husband and I are in our mid and late 50s and although not athletes, we are fairly fit and were able to do the more challenging walks. We just walked slowly, took breaks and savoured the incredible lush views of olive orchards, vineyards and the vast blue Mediterranean sea
On our first day, we did the four hour hike between Levanto to Monterosso (which is free and the most difficult). The difficulty was the uneven, rocky terrain and the up and down hills but you are rewarded with gorgeous views.
The trail begins by walking upwards and out of town by the “blue” castle. It starts off with some stairs, then a cobbled walk, climbing fairly steeply from the beginning. We did not have a map, but the numerous red/white marker stripes assured us we were on the right track.
There is a little offshoot to San Antonio, a 13th century monastery that was worth the extra footsteps (adding about half a km to the walk). At that viewpoint, we had clear skies and could see all five Cinque Terra villages beyond! Seriously breathtaking!! Of course we took a zillion photos.
Of all the hikes we did in the CT area, this one was my favorite. Firstly, because this walk isn't strictly a CT blue trail walk, it is much less popular . This is of course is a huge bonus as we practically had the trail to ourselves and just immersed ourselves into the peace and quite of the beautiful nature around us. On all the other trails we did between the five villages, the trails were very busy with tourists.... Secondly we loved walking through forests and then being rewarded with ocean views below and incredible views of the villages and mountains beyond..
This path required good footwear, plenty of water, sunscreen, sunglasses and most importantly, a camera.
** Tip: When doing this walk, make sure you have plenty of water, good walking shoes, a hat and a camera for those picture perfect views! Also, if you are doing this walk in the warmer months, leave early before it gets too hot!
When we arrived in Monterosso, we strolled around the pretty village and then rested on the beach for an hour or so.
After a decent rest in in Monterosso, we headed off on our second hike between Monterosso and Vernazza. This is a shorter hike and took us about 2 hours. It is also a gorgeous walk and about half way, an Italian farmer was selling small cups of cold handmade lemoncello to the hikers! It was rather funny and incredibly delicious, especially when you are hot and sweaty!! Towards the end of the walk, you start getting the magnificent views from above of the gorgeous town Vernazza (the prettiest village in CT). Just breathtaking....
We strolled around Vernazza and rested there until we could muster the energy to take our train back to Levanto. It was an exhausting day but magnificent.... we slept well that night!
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