Hiking the Cinque Terre

Sara and I bought the Cinque Terre card and were able to hike all of the trails we wanted over four days. The card is only good for three consecutive days, but only the coastal trails require it.

The trails go in and out of terraced farmland. Compared with many trails in the states, these are very well-marked. There are many signs and red and white stripes are painted on rocks and stone walls so you don’t end up wandering through someone’s lemon grove.

This trail started out easy. These are old trails. Many sections are paved with stone—which is nice, but not the softest surface to walk on.

It didn’t take long before we were climbing uphill.

And further uphill. Up very steep stairs.

We had stunning views of Corniglia below.

After the first hour, Sara decided there is a limit to how many stairs a person can take before second breakfast!

So… many… stairs…

Wombat, who might have more sense than us, decided to take a break in some nice cool grass.

But, lo! Salvation! A half-way cafe with fancy lemon and pomegranate mocktails!

Refreshed, we enjoyed the stunning view from the top of the crest.

A walk in the clouds.

Of course, what goes up must come down. This is where my injured heel really started bothering me. I stole both of the hiking poles for a while. Let’s just say that stone is not the preferred surface when you have a bone bruise.

But we made it. Wombat and I struck our triumphant poses!

We wandered around town for a bit, then took the train back to Corniglia for a lounge on our deck. (Yeah, Sara finds really good places to stay.)

Was there a better way to finish our long day of hiking than a glass of local wine and the sunset? I think not.

The ups and downs of hiking here.

The Cinque Terre is stunningly beautiful. The trails are extremely well-maintained. The terraced farms are impressive to say the least. The coastal trails, at least, are within most people’s ability to hike. (I can’t say the same for the mountain trails.) And there are refreshments!

However, there are some things to be aware of. While the mountain trails are free, the coastal trails require an entry fee. Sara and I opted for the 3-consecutive-day Cinque Terre card, but even in the shoulder season the price is steeper than you might expect. One day passes are ridiculously expensive.

On the last of our three consecutive days we ended up descending a steep and slippery slope in pouring rain. We almost beat the storm, but not quite. More experienced hikers might not have a problem with the slippery rocks, but the hike down wasn’t our favorite experience. At times, it was terrifying. At many places the narrow trails overlook a cliff. This provides a great view, but in bad weather…

The narrow trails were also crowded with hikers. Sara and I can only imagine how packed the trails must be during the high season. I didn’t include pictures of the crowds. Most of the hikers seemed to be high school tour groups (we counted one group at over 200 kids). As a former high school teacher I chose not to mark the memory with pictures.

I had intended to do some sketching on the trails, but there weren’t many places to step out of the crowd’s way.

That isn’t to say we didn’t have stretches of the trail to ourselves. Wombat might be in good shape (she bounded up those stairs like a mountain goat), but Sara and I aren’t used to this kind of steep hiking. Let’s just say we chose to take these trails at a leisurely pace.