Hi all, So, we've just spent three great days in the CT, and have some perspective on hiking between the towns. It's really quite hard to found out what's open, as there are some conflicting maps of the situation on Route 2, with no one in the towns knowing the whole situation. Here's what we found out and did: 1) Started in Monterosso. Hiked route 2 to Vernazza. Awesome hike. Had to wait for a group of 60 very noisy german speaking Belgians to go through, but once they'd gone it was great (Rick mentions these guys!) 2) Route 2 (the coastal route) between Vernazza and Corniglia is shut. The other option (high route) out of Vernazza is also closed. Took the train to Corniglia. 3) Route 2 (the coastal route) Corniglia to Manarola is shut. Instead, you take route 7 out of town, just above the church. It's straight up for a while, and then connects to route 6 which takes the "high route". About 2500 steps down from the high route into Manarola. Really glad we did it this way around! 4) Take the Via Dell'Amore (Route 2, the coastal route) from Manarola into Riomaggiore It's a really great route. Cheers.
Posted by
CA, ca
44 posts
Thanks so much! We are headed there in a couple weeks and are very interested in hiking the trails.
Posted by
OP
Missoula
109 posts
Hey, you are welcome! I was getting frustrated with the lack of clarity on this issue, and as I mention, no one in the towns has the whole picture. The hike I posted here is great. I wish we had time to do it in both directions.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32392 posts
David, Hopefully you didn't find the hike from Monterosso to Vernazza too stressful. I did that one again last year, and it just about wore me out! Did you stop at the small Bar along the Via dell'Amore for a "cool one"? Hopefully the other two Sentiero Azzuro trails will be open again sometime this year. I'll be back again in the Fall, but I'll have to spend lots of time in the Gym before I attempt that trail again. Cheers!
Posted by
Midwest USA
69 posts
Hi, David! Thank you for the information! We are beginning to figure out our rough daily itinerary for CT in July. I suppose there is a possibility that more of Route 2 will open up by then, but until we saw your post, were planning on taking the train between Vernazza-Corniglia and Corniglia-Manarola. Considering the "high route" you mention now. Can you tell me approximately how long that route took you? Also, one in our group is a seasoned hiker, but the other 3 of us, while in shape from running, aren't hikers (or trail runners). Is it doable for beginners or would it be tough? Thanks!
Posted by
OP
Missoula
109 posts
Hi, There is no way the "low route" between Corniglia and Manarola will be open any time soon, even this year given the mess you can see it is in from the boat. That said, we felt really lucky that it was closed, as we were "forced" to take the high route, which was really wonderful and gave a really good perspective. It looked to us like the Corniglia-Manarola low route would be more-of-the-same as the Monterosso-Vernazza route. As for hiking the Corniglia-Manarola high-route, it took us 2 hours 20 mins. We have a 9 year old and an 11 year old, so I would not consider us professional hikers at any level! There are LOTS and LOTS of steps to climb both up and down, but pretty much anyone can make the route, and indeed, we saw lots of people hiking for whom this looked their first ever long hike, and they were making it, with some effort and plenty of stops. I can see the Vernazza-Corniglia route being open sometime soon. There was just a bit that was not open when we were there (last week, first week in May 2012), and it was the bit by Vernazza to both the low and high routes. Still, it takes a real extreme effort to get these routes fixed up. They are doing it right, and that involves lots of heavy materials and manual labor to get the stuff in and then in place. From what we observed, there is so much to be done in Vernazza it'll be a while, though, before even this Vernazza-Corniglia route is open. Cheers!
Posted by
OP
Missoula
109 posts
Hi all, I thought I'd post some photos so you can appreciate the hikes a little. The link: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjzdvZNj The photos are in backwards order, unfortunately. They are labeled though. The first shows the hike up out of Corniglia, to Manarola. There are about 2000+ steps up to the Route 6 using Route 7 (which this picture is taken on) then you cross onto Route 6 (the junction is obvious and super well marked), walk a good long ways on level ground, and take 2000+ steps down into Manarola. The second photo shows the level part of Route 2 from Monterosso to Vernazza. There are stretches like this without a railing though. The third photo shows the steps up Route 2 out of Monterosso to Vernazza. Cheers!
Posted by
Memphis, TN, USA
16 posts
David, This is very helpful information, as we will be in Monterosso on May 17! We are also confused about which trails are open and which are closed. How long did it take you to do the entire hike? Did you take a boat back to Monterosso? Thank you. Dena
Posted by
OP
Missoula
109 posts
Well, as you can see, we have a 9 and 11 year old, so we were not "hiking like Germans" as RS would say!! We stayed in Riomaggiore, and took the train up to Monterosso. The hike (route 2) Monterosso to Vernazza was a little short of 2 hours. We stayed less than 45 minutes in Vernazza, but we also knew that we'd be back the next day there. We took the train down to Corniglia from Vernazza. The hike from Corniglia to Manarola was about 2 hours 30 minutes. Again, we stopped for pictures, water, snacks and such. The Via Dell'Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore is about 30 minutes. Riomaggiore is where we were staying. The following day we took the ferry all day long between the four towns (Corniglia does not have a dock to speak of), although Manarola was closed due to "high seas". The ferries are "organized" so you can't just stay on the boat the whole day, so we pretty much hopped between them. If you took the ferry Riomaggiore to Monterosso it'd be about 45 minutes. Cheers!