Hiking up to Soviore and Around Monterosso

We decide to hike from Monterosso up to Soviore again, but this time, after reaching Soviore, instead of heading back down, we follow the ridge trails around Monterosso and then descend into the city on a new-to-us trail that we've passed a few times, but never tried.  We first start up to Soviore, an interesting and familiar path that gives great views back over Monterosso as we ascend.

Hiking up to Soviore

Upon reaching Soviore, we follow the road down the hill to Colle Di Gritta, where we start up again over trails along the ridge around Monterosso.

Trails along the ridge

Occastional views across the hills

Soon, we reach an area where the land is a little more rocky and the trails go up and down the hills, with occastional views over Monterosso as we circle the town.

Some elevation change

Looking to the left, we can see Soviore, from where we just hiked, nestled in the hill and a bit of the trails around Monterosso.

Looking toward Soviore and Monterosso

The trail continues along the ridge, now with views of Levanto to the north on the other side of the ridge.

Trail continues

Looking north to Levanto

The trail descends into a small valley at Sella di Bagari, where we spot a sign for Trail 572 to Monterosso, a trail that had been abandonded for years, then was reopened by Monterosso a few years ago.  We follow it into the village through valleys and farmland.

Descending into Monterosso

Continuing to descend

Getting closer

Soon, we reach the edge of Monterosso, with new signs pointing back to Sella di Bagari and forward into the village.

Approaching Monterosso

The village appears

Our rewards at the end of this hike are fabulous sandwiches at a new shop, Pan e Vino Stuzzicheria, where we have an anchovy panini and a ham and cheese panini.  We enjoy them so much, we make reservations for a dinner later in the week.

Lunch

Pan e Vino

Another great day, another fun, scenic, and interesting hike!

Hiking Monterosso to Levanto

One of our favorite hikes is north from the northernmost Cinque Terre village, Monterosso al Mare, to Levanto, often used a a base for the exploration of the villages and, in addition to being a gateway to Cinque Terre, turing out to be an interesting and fun destination on its own.  In past years, we hiked from Monterosso to Soviore and then followed the ridge around Monterosso to meet up with the trail north along the sea.  This year, we shorten the hike by a few hours by heading north out of Monterosso, directly up to the the tral to Levanto.  We pass through Monterosso, from the old town to the new town and then up to the trail.

Passing through Monterosso, then up

We start to get views over Monterosso and of the coastline and the other villages south of us.  The sky is full of great clouds and we hope to finish before they bring rain.

View of Monterosso and the coast

Continuing up

Monterosso grows smaller as the sky threatens

Vernazza in the far distance

We reach the top of the trail from Monterosso and start along the coast toward Levanto

Trail along the sea

We meet several large groups of hikers heading in the other direction, from Levanto to Monterosso, waiting politely for each group to pass.

Group hike

Continuing along the sea

Soon, the trail starts to descend as we get closer to Levanto.

Trail starts down

With more views of the sea

We reach the end of the trail and follow the road into Leanto.

Road into Levanto

Approaching Levanto

Reaching to town, we walk past the beach with its umbrellas shuttered on this chilly, potentially rainy day.

Levanto on a not-so-good beach day

To celebrate our annual hike to Levanto, we stop at our favorite restaurant, Casa Roma, and share Bruschetta Cinque Terre (tomato, anchovies, olives) and a tomato buratta salad (with ham).

Bruschetta, salad

Another great day on the Mediterranean and another great hike to Levanto!