The Cinque Terre region is full of hiking trails that criss cross its mountains and coast lines. Our second day in the region would have us traversing the vineyards of Cinque Terre and descending to Corniglia. On this trail, we would be treated to some more spectacular coastal views, interspersed with vineyards clinging to the sides of mountains amid pristine landscapes.

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Cinque Terre Day Trekking: Manarola Volastra – Corniglia Trail, Italy

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The area of Cinque Terre, Italy consists of five wonderful towns located in Northwestern Italy. The aim on this trip was to visit all of the five wonderful villages, along with a few hikes throughout the region.

About Trekking in Cinque Terre, Italy:

The Cinque Terre region has five wonderful towns consisting of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

There are several great walks between each of these towns, with a multitude of walks between each area.

This particular trail followed our adventures on the Montresso – Vernazza al Mare trail. This trail was recommended for it’s wonderful views, along with the ability to possibly taste some wine along the way (seasonally).

We ended up completing this trail travelling south (Volstra) to north (Corniglia). I would recommend travelling the trail in the same northernly direction that we did. Trekkers will be treated to excellent vineyard along the first half of the trail. If you travel the trail in a southernly direction, you’ll have a tremendous obstructed view hike climb at the very beginning, along with a non view descent into Manarola.

In terms of difficulty, we cheated a little bit to make life easier by taking a bus from Manarola up to the top of the trail head at Volastra. This was among the best decisions I had made on the trip, since this saved a lot of unneeded effort. While we didn’t see as many We regularly saw couples in their sixties tackling this route, along with other walking groups consisting of much older people. Living the the North American Pacific Coastal Mountains, I didn’t find the elevation changes on this trail to be too dramatic. As long as you’re in reasonable shape, this shouldn’t be an impossible trail to complete.

As with all hikes, it goes without staying that hikers should make sure they have sufficient water for the journey, along with reasonable hiking / running shoes and a cell phone for self rescue. There are no vendors on the trail, so all water needs to be carried “in and out”.

Day Trekking Manarola (Volastra) – Corniglia:

Length of Trail: 3 kilometres +/-

Trail Number 586 + Lower 587

Time: About 1 hour and 30 mins (one way)

Elevation Change: 340 m (elevation 340m to sea level)

Cinque Terre Trail Rating: Easy Hike

WT73 Difficultly Rating: Easy – Intermediate

We set off from our accommodations at La Toretta Lodge in Manarola. We walked down from the hotel to take the bus up from Manarola to the hillside town of Volastara.

I was able to capture the bus schedule from the TrenItalia Manarola train station. There appear to be different schedules for weekedays and weekends, so it’s important to make sure you capture the correct schedule.

It’s only about 2.50€ for the bus, per person. This was an excellent investment in order to save 340m of elevation climb, and a good investment in the family relationship, and I was really happy that I didn’t attempt the physical climb from Manarola all the way up to Volastra.

It’s worth mentioning that the bus is limited to about twelve seats. As a result, I’d recommend getting to the bus stop earlier than the departure time. It’s not the end of the world to wait 30 – 60 minutes for the next bus, but when you’re keen to get out walking, it’s always good to be fully prepared.

Locating the Volastra Trail Head:

After getting off the short bus, we wandered around looking for the 586 trail head. As a result of the bus, we had ascended quite a bit and had great views back down towards Manarola.

We had clambered We ended up wandering down the trail, eventually finding the trail maker. The 586 trail would lead us towards lower 587. The trail would mark distance to the intersection of 586 / 587 as 1.45 kilometres at an elevation of 330m.

Traversing the 586 trail:

The Volastra to Corniglia trail is known for it’s outstanding vineyard views. After starting off on the trail, we were immediately treated to wonderful mountain top vineyard views. The vineyard terraces were stepped into the hills making for a very picturesque mountain traverse through the vines.

We had inspiring views of Manarola behind us, with the unmarred pristine Cinque Terre landscape surrounding each of the five cities.

We had distant “peek a boo” views towards Corniglia, our final destination on this hike.

Wandering through Vineyards:

Our traverse on trail 586 took us along through high vineyards. The pathway was clay and mostly level. Being that we had a terrific sunny day, it made the views exceptionally pleasant. Much like our earlier trek, there was not a lot of shade on this trail. If you’re passing through in the summer months, made sure you bring some shade protection.

The terracing of vineyards within Cinque Terre isn’t something that I’ve ever seen in vineyards around the world. It made the area interesting and unique in terms of how farmers were able to use the lands available to them.

About fifteen to twenty minutes into the trail, we came across the wine bar that is seasonally open during the summer months. It offers an opportunity to sample some Cantina Capellini wine that is grown locally. Unfortunately, wine tasting had concluded during our sunny October visit. I’ll be sure to check it out the next time I pass through town.

We also had an opportunity to check out the monorail system that farmers relied upon to move produce off the mountain. It was an environmentally friendly intricate rail system set up over hills, slopes and valleys.

Continuing on the trek, we eventually came across some farm houses in the middle of nowhere. It certainly made for exotic rural living.

Bending Inland:

After wandering through the houses, we started to meander inland. The vineyard trails disappeared and we ended up in a scrubby valley. We started to get a little vegetation shade, along with decidedly less exciting views.

We still had occasional great views of Cornigilia as we started the descent.

Descending into Corniglia:

Connecting to the 587

After passing through the shaded valley, we ended up at the intersection of 587 and the 586 trails. We had just come from Volastra on the 586 an it was time to descend down to sea level.

Since the lower 587 forms part of the longer 587, it is difficult to get the additional distance down on the 587. Having said that, it is a fairly steep descent of about 350m of elevation to almost sea level from this intersection. This is all the more reason to travel the trail in a northernly direction from Volastra to Cornilgia.

We had a fairly steep descent down towards sea level across loose and packed rock. I was really glad I was descending instead of ascending upwards. I didn’t see many trekkers ascending the trail through this route. Those that I did see looked like they had incredibly painful faces.

Arriving to Corniglia:

We eventually arrived to “almost sea level” Corniglia. Corniglia is one of the only Cinque Terre cities that is not directly on the sea. It occupies a spot on top of a rocky out crop.

The trail head dumped us off just on the edge of town. With a short walk, we found ourselves in town. The town itself was a smaller format and charming little space, with many patios and thin alley way streets.

Descending towards TrenItalia Corniglia:

When it came time to leave town, we climbed down the last stairs to the train station. Since Corniglia isn’t directly at sea level, we climbed down 382 stairs to get down to the train station.

It was a fun zig zag to get back down towards the TrenItalia train station. Once again, I was really happy I was descending the stairs as opposed to ascending them.

After our long hike, we returned by train to the La Toretta Lodge, Manarola for the night.

My Thoughts on the Manarola Volastra – Corniglia Trek:

The Manarola Volastra – Corniglia trek was a great second trek that allowed us to get another great feel of the area.

The trek allowed us to get in some vineyard views, along with probably among the most picturesque trek of our time in Cinque Terre.

If you are tackling this trail, I would recommend taking along some water, and approaching the trail in a south to north direction. If are able to take the bus up from Manarola to Volastra, you’ll be able to avoid a large ascent from taking this trail in the reverse direction.

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If you’ve visited the vineyards of Volastra, were you impressed with the views ?

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