Corniglia, Cinque terre, Italy

by docdivatraveller - 6/20/2017

The quaint village of Corniglia

Our second day in Cinque Terre practically started at 12 25 pm. The time at which we took the train was exactly similar to the previous day when we had come from Rome, checked into our apartment, caught up on social media and then finally left for exploring the Five Terre. The reason for such a late start? We had walked all the way to the La Spezia port and then had taken the train to Levanto and enjoyed the Ligurian Sea there. Since Levanto is ahead of Monterosso and not technically among the Five villages; our official Cinque Terre sightseeing began when we took the CT Express from Levanto to Corniglia.

The most beautiful station of my life till date...nestled between the hills and the Ligurian Sea

Corniglia is the middle town in the line up of the five hilly villages and is unlike the rest four. The rest four villages are quite near to the Railway station. Monterosso is the nearest as you literally walk out of the station into the Ligurian Sea. However the distance between the Corniglia station and the actual village was not only long but a tough one too! The railway station was very beautiful though. It was nestled between the hills and offered gorgeous views of the Ligurian Sea.

After a walk along the hills for about fifteen minutes from the station, the real ordeal began. There were 365 steps to the village. My oh my. I was already sore after so much walking not only from the previous day hiking but our morning had been pretty exhausting too. Many people skip Corniglia because of this fact. I , however was adamant. I wanted to explore all the Five villages even it was for a few minutes. So the climbing began.

365 steps to the village! Phew!

We did not have the time for lunch and were surviving on breakfast and a gelato from Levanto. My stomach was gnawing yet I kept on climbing. Hubs stopped at various spots to take pictures. The views all along were breathtaking. Finally we reached the village. Those 365 steps were conquered but in order to explore the village, every turn needed climbing. Phew!

Though the climb was thorny, it offered breathtaking views! Can you notice the railway tracks beneath?

I found Corniglia to be very religious. There were two big churches in such a tiny village and every quaint home had a picture of Jesus and candles and flowers around him. In fact all the villages were like this. It reminded me of the Bohol Island in Philippines which was very religious as compared to the modern cities like Manila and Cebu. Maybe small town people are more God fearing.

We thought of having lunch over there but it we had to catch the next train to Manarola. If we missed it, we would be late by more than an hour. We had the toughest hike left from Manarola and Riomaggiore. So we took pictures, tried to absorb the beauty all around as fast as possible and then climbed down all the steps back to the railway station.