Above and beyond the fabulous Cinque Terre
You choose: the low road or the high road.
We propose a route that takes you above and beyond the fabulous Cinque Terre.
Or…you can hike both trails!
The Low Road
The most famous route that connects the Cinque Terre villages is known as the ‘Sentiero Verde-Azzurro’ (‘Green-Blue Trail’).
When we think about hiking the Cinque Terre most of us have visions of slashy, colorful tiny villages and a wonderful trail that zigzags up and over vine-cladden hills and through meticulously terraced landscapes, that have now been a hot spot along the Italian “not-to-miss” circuits.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, the Cinque Terre sinuous paths traverse seemingly impregnable cliff sides, while a 19th century railway line cut through a series of coastal tunnels ferries from village to village.
Unfortunately, since the devastating hurricane and landslide that occurred in 2011, some sections of the trail are closed when it rains, or minor slips happen. Some sections have been closed for ten years.
The High Road
The Sanctuary Way is an alternative and enjoyable route (very well maintained throughout) that takes one further up in the mountains above the five villages, from upper Monterosso, passing through Seroa – right by The Little House – and ending at the sanctuary above the fifth and final village of Riomaggiore.
Although it can be done in one, very long day, it’s nice to break up the Sanctury Way into 2-3 days, of course including a stay at The Little House in Seroa.
A wonderful alternative to the Cinque Terre coastal route the Sanctuary Way is a 12 km gorgeous, upper trail located at higher elevations and with more far-reaching views (and no crowds)!
The route connects five historical sanctuaries to which the local inhabitants are bound by profound devotion. These five stunning sanctuaries were, and some still are, reachable by carriage roads.
The walks are a bit more strenuous than the lower, coastal walks but do not require any particular equipment or rigorous training. Still today, during religious feasts the faithful local villagers of all ages depart in prayer and procession from the nearest hamlet and complete it all by foot.
All of these trails are marked by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) white and red signs.
Looking for
Lenght
14 km (8.7 ml)
Time
6 hours
Start
Monterosso
End
Riomaggiore
Terrain
Rolling Hills
Level of difficulty
Moderate
Best time to go
April – November
Highlights
Five unique and beautiful sanctuaries en route.
Archaeological notes.
- Ancient remains of the original church of Soviore.
Ethnographic points.
- Ancient rural settlement and terraced area of Bovera, votive tabernacle of Madonna di Montenero, detour to the ancient settlement of Cacinagora.
- Gourmet Picnic organized by Carol Sicbaldi: at Cambuè – along the route between Reggio and delle Grazie Sanctuaries.
Trekking/hiking gear shop.
- Shop Explora a Manarola
Places to Stay.
- Monterosso (Villa Steno)
- Manarola (La Torretta)
- Borghi (hamlets) of Seroa (The Little House)
For parties of 3+.
- San Bernardino (Airbnb).
- Volastra (B&B Il Vigneto)
How to get there.
- Train to Genoa or La Spezia. Local train to Monterosso.
A bit of history
The Cinque Terre has been luring modern travelers for some time now. Most visitors don’t know anything about the history of these villages, how they came about and how long ago.
Hardly anyone knows that until the early twentieth century they were inhabited only by farmers – not by fishermen. And that their wine, already in 1300, was considered one of the best and was praised by many writers of the time.
The name “Cinque Terre” appeared for the first time in the 15th century when this area was under the control of the Maritime Republic of Genoa.
In one of his reports to Genoa, a clerk of the republic united the five villages Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso under a single place name since he found that all five villages had many characteristics in common.
The name “Cinque Terre” survived through the centuries even if today many visitors are confused by the word “terra” which seems to suggest maybe five islands or five hills. The word “terra”, in this case, stands for “small medieval village”.
The first settlers founded their hamlets in the hills above the Cinque Terre around the 10th century.
They were mostly inhabitants of the nearby Val di Vara, who, following the demographic growth and to save themselves from epidemics, climbed up and over the mountains and to build agricultural villages above the sea, at the height of five (still existing) sanctuaries: Soviore, Reggio, San Bernardino, Volastra and Montenero.
The land was morphologically unsuitable for cultivation due to their steepness, but the climate was better than the hinterland – which made it possible to cultivate vines and olive trees.
To overcome the first problem, a style of “dry terracing” was created through the construction of dry stone walls along the coast, which today cover an area of about 7000 km (mostly concentrated in just 14 km of coastline).
So it’s pretty safe to say that the history of the Cinque Terre area and people comes from a population of mountain peasants, who were not at all accustomed to fishing.
The wine trade has always been the main method of livelihood. In the 1300s the cultivation and wine production brought money to the Cinque Terre.
The white “Vernaccia” was considered very valuable, and most importantly it was transportable, unlike other wines. For this reason, it was also very expensive.
Dante actually makes reference to this local wine in the XXIV canto of Purgatory, in which he defines it as the “best white wine you can find”.
A few ideas to add to the fun: other hikes, boating, winery visits and events.
As mentioned before, the Cinque Terre National Park not only includes The Sanctuary Way and the beautiful Sentiero Azzuro – The Blue Path which hugs the coast and connects the 5 villages, but there are numerous other hikes, visits and tastings or attractions that can add loads of fun and variety to a week or two week stay at The Little House.