Cinque Terre walking holiday, Italy

The Cinque Terre (meaning 'Five Lands' in Italian) gets its name from the five picturesque villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The area has been proclaimed a major national park and is a unique part of Italy. For over a thousand years people have lived in this dramatic landscape, slowly altering its features and cultivating the steep hillsides that lead down to the rocky shores. Today the Cinque Terre offer a glorious natural and historical landscape that is best explored on foot. An extensive network of ancient mule tracks, now used as footpaths, take you past an extraordinary series of terraces, built by hand with stones and earth. Many of the terraces are still being cultivated and, notwithstanding the enormous amount of labour required, are still producing white wines for which the region has been renowned since medieval times. While agriculture has always been the backbone that has supported the villagers, they have also made a living from the sea. The region of Liguria has much more to offer, notably the nearby small towns of Portovenere and Levanto, a charming medieval place with a broad beach, and of course the peninsula of Portofino. Not only is the colourful town a popular resort for the Italian jetsetter, but the area is also home to the famous Abbey of San Fruttuoso, located in an isolated inlet on the coastline.

The villages of the Cinque Terre are connected by a railway system that tunnels beneath the cliffs and reappears at each village. We base ourselves in the charming medieval town of Levanto (Easily reachable by train from Milan, Pisa and Florence) and make a series of day trips to explore the most interesting parts of the Cinque Terre. Our program of walks is wonderfully varied - it includes walking the most famous path in the area, the Via dell'Amore, but we also follow other paths that take us to all the five villages, as well as enable us to wander amongst vineyards and experience the natural beauty of the region. Our last two days are based in the charming seaside town of Santa Margherita from where we will explore the jewels of the Portofino peninsula.