In the Autumn of 2011 huge land slides created devastation on the Cinque Terre, the jewel of Liguria in North-Western Italy. By all reports the Cinque Terre reopened for business in time for Easter 2012 – 90% open at any rate – and for a town that was buried in 13 ft of mud that is an amazing effort.
What You Will Find in This Post
Are Cinque Terre Trails Open 2018?
CINQUE TERRE translates to five lands or in this case five towns. Of the five,Vernazza and to a lesser extent Monterosso, were hardest hit. The water and mud raced down the hillsides with such force that three local people were swept away from Vernazza and tragically died.
We were lucky to visit in April 2010 when the trails and towns were in pristine condition. The trails also had to be rebuilt in places.
Incredibly, in September 2012 disaster struck again with rock falls damaging the Sentiero dell’Amore, or Lovers Walk, injuring four walkers. Read here to see which Cinque Terre Trails are open.
Cinque Terre Train
We caught the train from La Spezia to Cinque Terre. We arrived at Monterosso the furthest of the five towns on the Cinque Terre and walked back along the picturesque coastal path that connects the five towns, finishing in Riomaggiore. In this photo Vernazza, the second town on the trail and my favourite, peeks out from behind the mountains enticingly.
Vernazza April 2010.
How to walk the Cinque Terre Trail
I think Monterosso to Riomaggiore is the best direction for walking the Cinque Terre trail. Although the climb from Monterosso to the point where the above photo was taken was quite strenuous, walking from the other direction entails climbing a multitude of steps, which we instead got to walk down.
This photo shows the coast hugging train track arriving in Vernazza from Monterosso.
The View of Vernazza from the harbour wall.
Visitors arriving by boat.
Looking back to the Harbour as we climbed through the streets of Vernazza, destination Corniglia.
Looking back on Vernazza.
The train track as it departs Vernazza, Corniglia bound.
While the other three towns were saved from flood destruction by good drainage systems and the natural contours of the land, Vernazza and Monterosso were endangered because of the untended terraces on the mountains behind the towns. In the 1960’s when tourism increased, the vineyards and terraces were abandoned. Now there is a push to replant and tend the terraces once more, which together with improved drainage systems should keep the towns safe in the future.
Which Village to Stay in Cinque Terre
If we were to visit the Cinque Terre again I would love to stay in Vernazza. To my mind it is the most picturesque of the five towns and my blogging friends seem to agree. Although staying on the Cinque Terre is more expensive than staying else, like in La Spezia it is good to splurge on special destinations if your budget is flexible. One of the best places to stay in Vernazza Cinque Terre, location wise, is this charming room.
This post is linked to BUDGET TRAVELERS SANDBOX.
From the first of September we will be travelling for three months in Turkey and Cambodia. To follow our adventures you can LIKE US ON FACEBOOK or sign up for email notifications from the blog home page.
Tuesday in Townsville – Cape Cleveland
What a spectacular coastline. All the best for that next trip!
Thanks Andrew – I can’t wait to get back on the road.
I would so love to visit Cinque Terra and what good news to hear that 90% has been rebuilt. That’s got to have had a very positive effect on their tourism industry.
Oh my goodness, what stunning beauty!!! I feel warmer and happier just looking at them. 🙂
Beautiful place 🙂
I did that walk the opposite direction, but you can’t go wrong, its just a spectacular area to be outdoors and enjoy nature.
I’m inviting you to come join us for Travel Photo Mondays, a photo link party that runs all week starting on Mondays.
You’re right Noel, it is a wonderful experience no matter which way you walk it. 🙂
oh it is one of my dream holidays to go to places like this. I was sorry to read of the devistation it has suffered oveer the last few years, and hope it will recover fully.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and have a wonderful weekend ahead.
I am sure it will be just as good as it was before 🙂
Wow – a train ride through this part of Italy would be amazing! I was unaware that this area is prone to landslides, but looking at your gorgeous pictures, I can see why.
I hope they do start tending to the terraces once again. Surely it will please the tourists as well as keeping the town safe from landslides.
Hi Jan, thanks for bringing back fond memories of a place I adore. I know the devastion was sad but I’m glad the towns are recovering, especially Vernazza. We loved Vernazza. We stayed there for 3 nights and I’lls stay there again if we go back.
I was just actually thinking about posting Cinque Terre bec several good friends are heading there and wanting to see photos and info. I’ll forward your post to them.
Have a wonderful time in Cambodi and Turkey!
That is funny Marisol, because the reason I did this post was because a good friend of mine is heading over there and was wanting information 🙂
What a beautiful area! I have to admit that I didn’t know about the damage and deaths caused by the flooding and landslides there. Good to know there is something being done about the drainage systems.
I saw a video taken with the huge river just gushing down the main street toward the ocean. I am not surprised that people got swept away, I am just thankful that there were not more. I don’t know how they escaped.
I have wanted to visit Cinque Terre since I was a child and saw a travel special on it. It looks absolutely beautiful and your pictures just bring it to life. I can imagine how gorgeous that train ride it. Love that first picture!
I did not know about it until we decided to visit Italy in 2010. The first time in 30 years. When researching I soon found out about the Cinque Terre and wondered how come I had never heard of it. I read that a lot of people didn’t like it because it was overrun with tourists, but in mid April when we were there it was perfect. I hope you get to see it on a lovely day like we did. 🙂
Beauty and danger, different sides of the same coin. I’m glad to see that the town has recovered, even if it’s not yet 100%.
It’s a lovely walk, Jan.
I can just imagine how beautiful the coast must look when the train exits the tunnel.
The train ride is exciting because if you are riding it for the first time you get these flashes of exciting views and then plunge back into darkness. You are in suspense waiting for your next glimpse, not knowing when it will be 🙂
Such beautiful pictures! Thanks for the info – this is on my travel list, just not sure when!
I think it will still be the same whenever you get there Cindy. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to visit Cinque Terre. I had no idea that it had experienced relatively recent devastation, and it’s good to here that the towns have mostly recovered. Thanks for the advice on which way to hike. I’d much rather go down steps than up them. I’m thinking of a Cambodia trip myself and am looking forward to those updates.
Cambodia will be so different after Turkey Michele!
gosh that looks like a gorgeous place to visit, mind you the walk sounded scary! It sure looked so steep.
Hope they can improve the drainage so that the town remains safe.
Incredible colours/culture in such a perfect place. The water looks so blue 😉
The walk was difficult but so worth it Lisa 🙂
You make it look so pretty Jan, and a place that I’d love to visit. One of these days we’ll get to do the Grand Tour I hope, and I’ll be popping back searching through all your helpful advice on where to go and what to see.
It is very easy to take nice photos of the Cinque Terre Johanna. Hopefully it will be back to 100% of it’s pre land slide self by the time you get over there 🙂