As of
2019, if you’re found walking in Cinque Terre National Park in inappropriate footwear such as sandals or flip flops, you can be fined by the authorities. It’s a result of frustration among mountain rescue services at the number of people attempting what can often be quite demanding terrain and finding themselves needing assistance. But it’s also an indication that, while the five villages of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore are the main attraction on this section of the Italian Riviera, the wider Cinque Terre National Park and surrounding region make for walking vacations with a fantastic mix of challenge and pretty Mediterranean scenery.
The well-known Azure Trail, which links the five villages and incorporates a particularly attractive section between Riomaggiore and Manarola known as the Via dell’Amore, is 12km in length and would take approximately five hours to walk, not counting time spent at each village. But the Cinque Terre National Park manages
48 trails spanning around 120km, with a few walks spoking off from each of the five villages. Many of these are well-tended old mule paths, in use for centuries and wending their way through oak forests and shrubland, Ligurian seaside villages, vineyards and olive groves. They lead you past the stone terraces farmers have for centuries employed to grow crops such as grape vines, lemons and apples on steep hillsides, and which are now sadly fallen into disrepair. And compared to the Azure Trail where in peak season you’re often walking in lockstep with hundreds of others, further up the paths are perhaps not empty, but certainly nowhere near as busy.
