Hiking Trails
From the Holiday Apartments “Terre di Liguria” it’s possible, starting from the nearby hamlet of Romito Magra and thanks to a 30 minute climb, to reach the site of the “Golden Butterfly”, a natural event that occurs during the summer solstice in the village of Monti di San Lorenzo. Here in the Magra’s Valley I recommend the itinerary (1h30) that winds along the river Magra between Bradiola (Sarzana) and the Pallodola lake (Sarzana) and the one of easy difficulty of the “Bozi of Saudino”, gracious lakes in the municipality of Sarzana. Always starting from the hinterland, the path (2h30) that goes from “Luni” to “Bocca di Magra” offers an incredible landscape: the Roman remains of the archaeological site of Luni, the Apuan Alps and the vast estate of Marinella of Sarzana.
Entering the Caprione Promontory, a natural watershed between the Gulf of La Spezia and the Valley of the Magra river, you can take the fantastic path (3h15) that connects Bocca di Magra to Lerici, also visiting the historic village of Montemarcello: you are standing in the Montemarcello- Magra-Vara Park! Another seductive itinerary (30 m) is the one that from the “Santa Croce” Monastery, passing through “Bocca di Magra”, reaches “Punta Bianca”. I also suggest trying the fantastic path (1h) which, starting from Montemarcello, leads to the beautiful beach of “Punta Corvo”. The Botanical Garden of Montemarcello is certainly worth a visit and is accessible thanks to a short path (15m) between the locality of “La Gruzza” (Montemarcello) and “Monte Murlo”.
Like the ancient pilgrims that from Canterbury, through the “Via Francigena”, used to reach Rome, you too, on our territory, can relive at least two important stages of this important link road of the Middle Ages: path 24 from Aulla to Sarzana, via Santo Stefano, with a visit to the ruins of the “Castello della Brina” and path 25 from Sarzana to Massa, via Luni, from the latter pilgrims used to sail towards Santiago, and Avenza, alongside breathtaking views of the Alps and the sea.
The “Val di Vara”, also called the “Valle del Biologico”, offers many ideas for walking or horseback riding among its beautiful mountains. The Val di Vara Adventure Park in the village of Maissana offers routes of different levels for all ages. From the villages of Varese Ligure, Zignago, Brugnato, Carrodano, Calice al Cornoviglio, Pignone, Riccò del Golfo and Bolano, numerous paths start on the discovery of our ancient Ligurian people, between the scenarios of the “Alta Via dei Monti Liguri” and the “Alta Via delle Cinque Terre”.
The Cinque Terre hiking trails are both the Blue paths along the coast of the Marine Protected Area and those of the “Alta Via dei Monti Liguri”, which connect all the five villages. To date, the blue paths that can be covered on foot, subject to information on the weather and related accessibility, are the trails between Corniglia and Vernazza and between Vernazza and Monterosso, the latter is the last village of the Cinque Terre coming from La Spezia Train Station. Moreover, it’s important to remember the "Via dei Santuari": it also winds on the top of the mountains and offers an authentic glimpse of these beautiful places. It includes the following stages: the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Montenero in Riomaggiore, the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Salute in Volastra, the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie in San Bernardino, the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Reggio in Vernazza and the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Soviore in Monterosso. The Via dei Santuari testifies to the ancient origins of the religiosity of the locals, who were first peasants and not sailors.
