Path n. 507 from San Bernardino to Vernazza

From the village of San Bernardino, sanctuary of Corniglia, you may reach Vernazza through the beautiful path n. 507, all with sea view, in about 30-40 minutes.
San Bernardino, located at 385 meters above sea level, consists of a small inhabited that gathers around the sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie whose celebration is on September 8. San Bernardino is on the route that links all the sanctuaries of the Cinque Terre and it is accessible in about 40 minutes by car from La Spezia to Manarola following the road 370 and then from Manarola taking the road 51. The other possibility is to go by train to Vernazza and then climb to the village using the shuttle buses of the National Park.
From here you have a stunning view of the entire coastline of the Cinque Terre and in particular on the village of Corniglia, the sanctuary of Montenero, the bay of Guvano and the Mesco promontory.
To follow to Vernazza, you leave the village of San Bernardino along a short stretch of paved road until you reach the Saddle of Comeneco, where you take a stretch of dirt road leading to Locanda Valeria. Here you can appreciate the terraces supported by dry stone walls intensely cultivated with vines producing the famous DOC white wine of Cinque Terre and the mythical Sciacchetrà, a sweet wine of fine quality.
Once the dirt road ends, take the path on the left, where you begin the steep descent that leads to Vernazza. The first section runs along the crest of the hill that borders the area that on the right side is still partially surrounded by vineyards, citrus fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, on the left side, the area is now abandoned and the maquis of oaks, gorses, heathers and wild asparagus, has overtaken the area.
The view over Vernazza that you may appreciate from this section of trail is probably the most beautiful of all with the pearl of Punta Mesco in the background. From this point you may also appreciate the various hamlets perched on the steep valley following the stream of Vernazzola.
You descend steadily till you reach the SVA Blue Path (former No. 2) Corniglia-Vernazza in the area above the village called Macereto basin. The first building of the village you come to is the bar restaurant “La Torre” with a lovely rooftop terrace nestling between agaves and prickly pears.
The trail then gets into a fork: turning right you reach the top of the village near the train station and the bus-stop to San Bernardino and to the left you go through a typical Ligurian narrow street that leads to the castle with its beautiful tower to finally get down to the main square which stands in between the village and the sea.
Enjoy your walk !!!