Trekking to Eastern Liguria

Walking the High Path of the Gulf of La Spezia is like taking a journey through time: you stroll through the Mediterranean scrub of Muzzerone or Caprione, where no traces of human presence accompany you, but you have a smartphone in your hand where you’ve downloaded the route from beactiveliguria.it.

You encounter the medieval village of Valeriano with its narrow alleys or the Baroque chapel of Madonna del Buonviaggio, and a little further on, you swiftly pass by the ultra-modern Termo with its facilities and a view of the Spezzino industrial sector. Then, you ascend the hill again, heading back in time towards Pitelli and the splendid village of Arcola, where you can breathe in an ancient atmosphere, where the first stones were laid by our ancestors 2600 years ago!

Walking on the High Path of the Gulf, you fully appreciate the shape of the Gulf of Poets: protected by the Caprione Promontory to the east and the islands of Palmaria, Tino, and Tinetto to the west. It covers a distance of 47.2 kilometres with a total positive elevation gain of 2146 meters.

In the past, wooden ships sought refuge from the rough seas here, and even today, with the “sea breeze,” the boat from the Cinque Terre finds calm as it enters the Gulf through the Mouths of Portovenere.

The name “La Spezia” also evokes the passage of time: ancient maritime trade with the Indies, in search of spices, textiles, and other precious goods.

If you had set off from Portovenere (an outpost of the Republic of Genoa) still smelling of “Genoese,” by the time you reach Bocca di Magra, you are now almost “Tuscan,” both in terms of the territory and the dialect. The High Path ends in Lunigiana, a region straddling the two regions, known for its culinary delights and gentle hilly landscapes.

The itinerary is divided into three stages, with La Foce and Arcola serving as intermediate points of arrival.