Hotels near Sentiero Rosso, the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre

Park trail 591, formerly trail number 1, is the Sentiero Rosso or Alta Via delle Cinque Terre: about 40 km from Portovenere to Levanto along the ridge above the villages, roughly 11 hours of walking, a maximum altitude of about 800 m and around 1,300 m of cumulative ascent. It is graded E for Escursionistico, waymarked in white and red, and it is free. There are no gates and no Cinque Terre Card is needed anywhere on it. The whole ridge sits inside the UNESCO World Heritage site of Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Islands, and it is the one route here where you are more likely to meet Ligurian walkers than tour groups.

The park divides it into five official stages: Portovenere to Telegrafo, 4.7 km in 3 hours 20; Telegrafo to Cigoletta, 6.9 km in 2 hours 40; Cigoletta to Il Termine, 7.1 km in 3 hours 15; Il Termine to Sant'Antonio and Punta Mesco, 7.2 km in 1 hour 35; and Mesco to Levanto, 3.3 km in 2 hours 15. Most people should take the final two stages as a single day. Il Termine over Punta Mesco to Levanto is 10.5 km and about 3 hours 50, it holds the sea view for most of its length, and it finishes at a station rather than a bus stop.

Pro Tip: Finish at Levanto station and ride the Cinque Terre Express back. The 2026 Express season runs 14 March to 1 November, single fares are EUR 5, EUR 8 or EUR 10 depending on the fare band, children aged 4 to 12 travel half price, and a single ticket is valid for 75 minutes and one direct trip only.