Cinque Terre: Corniglia to Vernazza
Extra time in the Cinque Terre means time to hike. While we kept our choice simple for our one hiking day, we were somewhat overwhelmed with the breadth of hikes in both distance and difficulty. I think this warrants a trip back, to walk some of the less travelled paths.
Morning espresso and focaccia under our belts, we paid our National Park access fee and caught the train to Cornilglia. Sitting atop a huge sea cliff, the town is accessed by the 382 steps up from the train station (or by bus if you are less able). This was a solid warm up for our hike.
Exploring Corniglia was charming. It is the smallest of the five Cinque Terre villages, and somehow this made it’s streets more captivating. Or maybe the intrigue comes from the history - that this place has survived here for so over six centuries, high above the sea which historically connected it to the other villages.
Today only 150 people live here, and it certainly feels more isolated that the other villages. It is truly quaint and definitely worth exploring. But our time here is limited and we set off on the hiking trail towards Vernazza.
Reviews about the difficulty of this trail are varied, so here is my honest opinion: it is much harder than it is often described. Don’t get me wrong, it is very doable, especially if you are able to take your time. It was a good walk for people of our (modest) fitness level and hiking experience, but although the path is well made, it is still a very rocky trail, with steep sections and a lot of steps. Many people we encountered on the trail did not look properly aware of these difficulties and so had inappropriate footwear and clothing and carried little water.
The direction we walked, from Cornilgia seemed to be the less popular direction, but I would recommend it as there are many more steps coming up from Vernazza into the hills (aka – we seemed to go down more stairs than we went up from our direction). This meant, I think, that we had more time and breath to actually enjoy the beauty of the views and place we were in.
Through the olive groves and forest, above the cliffs of the turquoise ocean, sun on our backs we enjoyed our time. This was a lovely walk for us, to get our hearts pumping and brains thinking…about pizza and gelato for lunch.
We arrived at Vernazza, looking down on the beautiful village spit, clustered with colourful homes sitting above the boat lined harbor. A reward for a couple hours of challenging walking.
Having already admired the town from afar, coming down the backstreets towards the centre was fantastic – this was the only town that we experienced in this way: big picture first, details second. The backstreets were slim and sometimes shadowed by the sheer height of the neighbouring homes. Winding our way through them to find the piazza was a delight.
Bellies filled with pizza, it was gelato time. In Vernazza we found the greatest of our trip – I had a divine blackberry with the best ‘Cinque Terre Special’ of those I sampled. For the first time on our trip, the weather started to turn, so we skipped our swim and simply sat and absorbed the view from the busy harbour.
Vernazza was a beautiful little town, but jam-packed with passer-by tourists like ourselves. Seeing this place after dark, a little emptier and more authentic would be quite special, I am sure.
Our week at the Cinque Terre was beautiful, and I would come back in a heartbeat. For more focaccia, more hiking, more swimming and more relaxation. But as we are realising, there will be other beautiful places, maybe just up the road, that could also do with our custom. I’m going to seek those out next time we make it to the Italian coast.
