Hiking the SVA in the Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre National Park is a stretch of Italian coastline made up of five small villages—Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The park is designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. The villages are connected by scenic hiking trails that take you through vineyards, along cliffs, and past some incredible sea views.

Walking between the villages is one of the best ways to experience the area. The trails give you a closer look at the landscape, the local culture, and everyday life in these old fishing towns. Some paths are easy and well-traveled, while others are steep and rocky—but all of them offer something unique.

This summer I was able to experience this fantastic place for a few days with my partner, Ed. We stayed in La Spezia, which is not part of the Cinque Terre National Park, but it is a big city and easy to jump on the train which takes you to all the five villages.

As I am not an expert hiker, and I wasn’t fit enough to do all the walks available in the area, I chose trails that hug the coastline, specifically the famed Sentiero Verde Azzuro (SVA) or the Green-Blue path in English, which is a multi-stage coastal path that links the villages. There are only three stretches open at the time of writing, Monterosso to Vernazza, Vernazza to Corniglia, and a recently opened (February, 2025) section from Riomaggioggre to Manarola called the Via dell’Amore. This section has been renovated after it closed in 2012 following a landslide and compounded by wave damage in 2018. The path was initially built in the 1920’s to connect the two isolated villages on the Riommagiore and Manorola as there was no existing road for cars at the time. It was on this path that lovers would meet from the two villages, thus being called the Via dell’Amore. The last remaining section of the SVA path from Corniglia to Manorola is still closed after frequent landslides.

Taking the train into Corniglia, we decided that we would take it easy on our first day in the park and start hiking the following day. That said, to get to the village of Corniglia we had to climb 383 steps and 33 brick ramps to get there. The village was very colourful, and quaint, perching on the hillside. We spent the day moving from one outside terrace overlooking the sea, sipping on Hugo spritzes, to the next. We also couldn’t resist going down many stairs to get to a swimming spot off some rocks and a concrete pier, it was well worth it - the sea was the perfect temperature. The day ended by taking more stairs to get down to the train to Manarola for dinner and sunset watching.

Our first official hiking day started off in Monterosso with a grilled octopus lunch, set back from the promenade, under a grove of trees, before embarking on the SVA trail from Monterosso to Vernazza. Ready for action after our tasty lunch, we found the trail on the other side of the village past a beach and a grand old hotel. We wound our way up to the narrow path that led to the Cinque Terre National Park post. It cost us 15€ each as we did not book the tickets in advance, but well worth the money as it is used for important trail maintenance.

Once past the hut, we ascended through vineyards and saw a monorail used for collecting grapes. As it was too early in the season for grape picking, the passenger seat was neatly parked on one the side of the trail. It looked like it could be a fun roller coaster ride for one.

The trail led us through some woody areas, popping out into open coastal brush with the sea crashing below. Some of the section required some nimble footing up rocky bits, other times there were steps to ease the process. We finally arrived in Vernazza in the late afternoon, just in time for a Hugo spritz, dinner on the seafront and sunset watching with a crowd of onlookers.

Before setting off on our second day of hiking, being ‘seasoned’ Cinque Terre hikers we now knew to buy our tickets to the Cinque Terre National Park in the La Spezia station, which were half the price. After climbing onto the train we arrived in Vernazza for the second leg of the SVA trail, from Vernazza to Corniglia. We walked up to the start of the trail, up loads of steps between colourful houses and gardens bursting with colour. On the way up, was an amazing restaurant, the Torre di Vernazza, perched on the side of the cliff, where we had grilled seafood. The view was stunning and the food exceptional.

After lunch it was time to get  back onto the trail. It was similar scenery to the day before, and plenty of up, then flat, then down towards Corniglia. Just as the heat of the day was getting too much we came upon a hamlet roughly halfway on the trail. It was a much needed oasis come farm, serving frozen watermelon juice and cold beers. They also sold some of their fruits and veggies along with Cinque Terre made jams and wines you could take back with you. We whiled away the time at our little table overlooking the beautiful little farm and the mountain meeting the sea. Once we were ready, we set off for the last leg of the walk, which took us across a stream, a little woodland and a landslide prevention project that was explained on an information board. Landslides in the area are more and more frequent, in part due to overtourism, but in other parts due to environmental and geological factors. Once we’d informed ourselves, we carried on the last bit of trail to the Corniglia station where we decided to call it a day and head back to La Spezia. Takeaway dinner and a good bit of relaxation were in order after another great day of hiking.

The following day was mostly spent meandering in Porto Venere, some call it the 6th village of the Cinque Terre. The colourful buildings, dramatic coastline and a 15th century Genovese architecture fort at the headland deemed it a UNESCO world heritage site along with the five villages of the Cinque Terre. We took the ferry from La Spezia to get there, and later in the afternoon took another ferry to Riomaggiore, where we walked the Via dell’Amore, the last bit of the SVA open to the public. Not a hiking trail as such and there is still a fee to use it. This is a half hour of ambling along a stone walkway that has been resurfaced and renovated, through contemporary style, vaulted gangways, softly bordered by coastal gardens and cosy nooks for canoodling, connecting Riomaggiore to Manorola. It was the perfect way to end our trip to the Cinque Terre National Park.

We travelled at the beginning of June which was a perfect time to go in my opinion as it was just starting to get hot, and it was not as busy as in the height of peak season. There was no need for hiking boots, a light, grippy trail shoe is perfect and a small backpack with water, snacks and sunscreen is a must. This trip gave me a taste of the Cinque Terre, and I would love to go back there one day to do all of the trails available, once I become an expert hiker.