Italian Road Trip #14 - Verdant Road to Vernazza

Hey, fellow Steemians!

One of the trademarks of Cinque Terre region is its hiking trail. All five villages are connected by a scenic path called Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail) which offers many beautiful views and a good exercise. Due to recurring landslides and tourists swarming in to use it, the trail was due for renovation at the time of our visit so we were unable to use the first 2 sections (Riomaggiore to Manarola and Manarola to Corniglia). Luckily, the rest of the path was open so we finally got to venture out and see the amazing landscapes in person. The first trail ahead of us was the one from Corniglia to Vernazza.

To help preserve the national park and the trails of Cinque Terre, authorities have introduced a fee to use the trails. The ticket prices vary depending on the number of days you want to use them for. There are also combined tickets available that give you the access to both trails and the train that connects the villages. We bought two-day combined tickets (€29 each) for ourselves back at the train station in La Spezia so we were ready to go.

The trail entrances are easy to spot since they usually have a booth with a park employee who validates the tickets. We checked ourselves in and started the hike.

The pathway starts flat but soon turns upward and we had to push ourselves a bit until we reached a higher point. After 15 minutes of walk, the road turned smooth again and we managed to increase our pace. The landscapes were gorgeous! The meandering path that followed the hill led us away from Corniglia and into nature. Our eyes would often divert toward the endless azure sea and back to the massive hills and cliffs that lay ahead of us.

There were several resting points along the way, as well as small terraces at vantage points that boasted beautiful views, especially of Corniglia, from where we started our hike. Each time we turned back to glance at this charming town, it got smaller and smaller until it almost disappeared.

By the way, we have more videos than the pictures from our hikes in Cinque Terre, so we hope you don’t mind the GIFs. But, on the good side, we plan to do a Cinque Terre compilation video where you may get a better feel of what the trail is really like. Good time to try out DTube, right? :)

It was interesting to see many small vineyards and tiny houses which clearly indicated that there’s an active commune around here. We even passed through a tiny hamlet of 5-6 houses. Interesting to see that the people living there made a business of the hype surrounding the Cinque Terre and sold orange juice and other refreshments to the thirsty hikers.

To be perfectly honest, we did notice that the trail was a bit crowded but not to the point it ruined the whole experience. It just made us wonder if this area gets even more popular, how would it be handled? There were stories of Italians considering to limit the number of visitors to Cinque Terre, but no concrete moves have been made yet. So guys, we urge you to visit this magnificent place before the restrictions take place!

After about an hour and a half, we reached the stairs leading downhill. This was a sure indicator we were almost at the end of the trail. The steps were steep and we noticed that many people going in the opposite direction from us were completely exhausted. So if you want it easier it’s probably better to hike this trail from Corniglia to Vernazza than vice versa. We sure were glad we weren’t in their shoes!

Soon, the town of Vernazza revealed itself to us. We were surprised what a nice introduction we got! It was an amazing place to take the photos from and we just had to stop and snap a couple of good ones. We then hurried downstairs and started exploring the streets!

It was that good old familiar Cinque Terre charm. Tiny winding alleys where you easily lose a sense of direction (but again, you don’t stress about it because it’s impossible to end up in an unsightly neighborhood - there is none).

The main street reminded us of Riomaggiore and how it slopes down to the sea. Unlike Riomaggiore though, Vernazza has a small beach and a bigger harbor where many fishermen and tour operators park their boats. We saw several groups and couples renting a boat to themselves which must be an amazing experience (albeit over our budget)!

We sat down at the quay to get some rest and absorb the magic of Vernazza. However beautiful it may look, it also tells a sad story from its recent history. In October, 2011 a huge flood had hit Vernazza killing 13 people and causing huge damage to the town. It took more than 2 years for it to recover but all citizens of Vernazza will remember that tragic day… Other Cinque Terre towns were affected too but Vernazza had it worst.

While we were at Vernazza we also used our time to visit Castello di Vernazza, a small fort with a watchtower overlooking the town and the bay. The castle itself wasn’t as impressive but you can literally see every corner of the town along with the neighboring towns of Corniglia and Monterosso.

The ticket was €2 per person and you can decide by the pictures if it’s worth your money (when you hopefully visit Vernazza, one day ;) ).

After visiting Vernazza, we have to say it’s one of our favorite towns in Cinque Terre! Even with all the tourists and crowds it manages to retain its charm. We were sad to leave, but we promised ourselves we’d come back in the future and spend a couple of nights there to get better acquainted with this gem!

One more town is left - Monterosso al Mare. Hope you join us in the next post where we finally conclude this (extensive) series of posts on Italy!

See you next time!