The Cinque Terre are a piece of paradise that belongs to Italy. Under this name identifies a stretch of coast, very jagged, on the Ligurian Riviera, located in the province of La Spezia between Punta Mesco and Punta di Montenero. In this stretch of coast, there are five villages that make up the Cinque Terre in fact, and have: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Fascinating tourist destination, popular all year round, the Cinque Terre are included as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, as well as being protected marine area. Here also established the Cinque Terre National Park, within which lies one of the most beautiful landscape that offers its visitors.
This is the Blue Trail, a hiking trail that runs entirely within the Park. Known by most experts as the number 2 of the CAI trail, the path starts from Riomaggiore to Monterosso and goes up through Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza. It ‘about 12 km long and easily covered, in addition to giving breathtaking views throughout the walk. It takes about 5 hours walk to follow it all, but you can very well divide it into four distinct sections which are:
1) Between Riomaggiore to Manarola, also known as Via dell’Amore. It is the shortest (about 1 km) and is undoubtedly the easiest and can be covered in less than half an hour
2) Between Manarola to Corniglia, it is 2.8 kilometers long and takes about 1 hour walk
3) Between Corniglia to Vernazza, it is 3.5 km long and takes almost 2 hours
4) Between Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare, it is the longest and most challenging. It is 3.8 kilometers long and takes at least two hours.
Although you can continue along the trail in one day, most of the visitors through it by following these steps, stopping to admire the beauty of the villages and to taste the typical products.