For our second hike, we decide to go up the coast from
Monterosso to Levanto. We could take the
direct route, walking through to Monterosso, climbing up from the new town, and heading straight across the ridge along the sea, about a 3 hour journey. But, we decide to add a side trip back into
the hills, climbing from Monterosso to another Sanctuary, the Santuario
Nostra Signora di Soviore, then following the ridge around Monterosso and joining the path along the sea to Levanto, about 4-1/4 hours. This takes us on Path Number 1 all the way
from Soviore to Levanto (after we compete the up part from Monterosso to
Soviore on Path Number 9).
Soviore is at 464 meters (1522 feet) and up we go. Basically straight up until we get
there.
The bell tower at Santuario
Nostra Signora di Soviore
At Saviore, we have a great view down on Monterosso, but we
have trouble finding Path Number 1. The
sign seems to point to the road, but we don’t see any markers on the road.
View of Monterosso from Soviore - we follow the ridge around Monterosso to the far point
Where is that trail?
We wander into the building, admit to being lost, and they
tell us to follow the road to Colle di Gritta and then to ask someone
there. We head down the road to Colle di Gritta and see that it is a major intersection, with a
small restaurant and hotel.
Intersection at Colle di Gritta
As at Soviore, we see a sign for Trail Number 1, but can’t find it. We ask at the
hotel and they tell us that the path leads up from the back of their parking
lot. The person at Saviore was right, we would not have found the trail on our own.
We head back up and along the ridge circling around
Monterosso for different views of the city on the left. On the right side, we see Levanto, seemingly
close, but several hours away on the trail we are taking.
The trail winds along the ridge around Monterosso
View of Monterosso, looking left from the trail
View of Levanto, looking right from the trail
The trail goes up and down across the ridge around
Monterosso and eventually leads to the point where we meet the trail up from
Monterosso’s new town and our first traffic jam. We have only seen one other hiker (and his
dog) on the trail so far, but the route from Levanto to Monterosso (followed by
lunch in Monterosso, then a train ride back) is popular and we meet many French, German, and British groups hiking together along the trail.
Hikers congregate at the intersection, Monterosso below and Vernazza in the distance
Trail signs at the intersection
The views of the coast north of Monterosso are just as
spectacular as those we saw heading south to Porto Venere.
Looking up the coast, Levanto around the corner
As we descend, Levanto comes into view. Levanto is much larger than any of the five
towns in Cinque Terre and often serves as a base for people exploring the
region. The train from Levanto reaches
Monterosso in 4 minutes for 1.4 euros ($1.56) and Riomaggiore at the far end of
Cinque Terre in 13 to 20 minutes for 1.8 euros ($2.01), depending on how many
other villages it stops in.
Levanto comes into view
The trail comes down into Levanto at the beach and, as
in Porto Venere, we spot the sign of where we can go from here.
The trail descends into Levanto at the beach
Where we can go from here
But, we are here, and we head over to Café
Roma for lunch, caprese salad, focaccia with spicy salami and olives, pizza
with anchovies and capers, and, of course, a liter of local white wine.
Then, it’s back to Monterosso on the train and another
swim in the sea.
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