Ring Tramonti – Campiglia – Lemmen – Tramonti

A beautiful hiking route consists of the ring that, from Tramonti, winds its way all over with sea-view in the middle of the Mediterranean scrub and the splendid terraced landscape of the Cinque Terre National Park, passing through the small village of Campiglia, the Telegraph hill and the ancient peasant village of Lemmen, located on the heights of Riomaggiore.

The start of our route is on the SP370 costal road leading to Cinque Terre, just before the entrance of the Biassa tunnel on the Riomaggiore side, reachable by car or by bus from the Cinque Terre National Park from Volastra, Manarola and Riomaggiore. From the parking lot near the Biassa tunnel, go along a short stretch of paved road until you reach the square of the small settlement of Tramonti, splendid old cottages largely restored, which testify the tenacious presence of man in this difficult area.

From the square you go down along the mule track of path n. 535 Fossola-Monesteroli and just past the little church of the guardian angel, turn left passing through the rural village of Tramonti, founded by the inhabitants of the nearby village of Biassa, to better carry out the agricultural activities necessary for the maintenance of this rugged territory. After a stretch in the heart of the terraces, now for the most part uncultivated and after crossing a forest of holm oaks, you reach the intersection with path no. 536 which descends to the sea through the village of Monesteroli with the Scala Grande, a splendid engineering work by local farmers. Another testimony of the time is the fountain of Nozzano, with its washhouses built by the Napoleonic army at the end of the nineteenth century.

After passing the fountain, take a short stretch of paved road and pass the intersection with path no. 504 which leads to the sea passing through the village of Schiara right in front of the small rocky isle of Ferale.  A few hundred meters and you reach Campiglia, the only real village you find along the way, with its beautiful square in front of the Church, a splendid natural balcony overlooking this part of the Ligurian Sea that satisfies the efforts made so far. From the village the path n. 528 which, with a splendid mule track, runs towards the cliff until reaching the beach of Persico.

After a short refreshment you can resume the journey by joining the AV5Terre, ex n. 1 which, climbing up the ridge, reaches the church of Sant’Antonio on Mount Parodi, enjoying a splendid view of the Gulf of Poets with the imposing Apuan Alps in the background. In this section you cross a forest of holm oaks, pines, chestnut trees where you can admire numerous examples, even very old ones, of cork oak, a typical Mediterranean plant, well known and renowned also in the islands of Corsica and Sardinia.

Once you reach the small church of the Alpini of Sant’Antonio Abate, where there is a small bar with a large equipped outdoor area, continue on the AV5Terre up to the Telegraph hill, to take path no. 593 which, going down, leaves the wood and reaches the splendid ancient agricultural village of Lemmen, where a local farm is giving great input to these places, through the reconstruction of hundreds of dry stone walls and the planting of new vineyards and vegetable gardens, contributing significantly to the mitigation of hydrogeological risk.

From here you can continue on path n. 593 to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Montenero, protector of Riomaggiore, from where you can enjoy a unique glimpse of the territory ranging from the Gulf of La Spezia, with the islands of Palmaria and Tino to the promontory of Punta Mesco which closes the Cinque Terre National Park to the west. From Lemmen, descending along the steep path, which runs along the track of the monorail installed to transport the grapes during the harvest, you quickly reach the SP370 costal road of the Cinque Terre, right at the entrance to the Lemmen tunnel. After a few hundred meters direction La Spezia we will find ourselves at the starting point.