Where to go trekking in Liguria in Portofino
by Alessandra
If you are looking for hints on where to go trekking in Liguria in Portofino, you are in the right place. Portofino is one of the magical sites of the Ligurian Riviera, whose name recalls the Mediterranean scrub typical of these coasts and the pastel colors of the seaside villages. The Portofino Regional Park is the ideal place to go hiking.
Bathed by the clear waves of the Marine Protected Area, the promontory where Portofino stands offers numerous trails to try: you will be immersed in lush nature and you will reach coves and clear waters where you can swim undisturbed.
Starting from Villa Paggi, the Portofino Park is ideal for trekking: walking the paths that innervate it, will allow you to appreciate the breathtaking views, the lush flora and fascinating sites that are the result of human work over the centuries.
We would like to recommend a path in particular: San Rocco – Punta Chiappa.
Leave the car in the parking lot near San Rocco, and in a few minutes you can reach the viewpoint in front of the church of San Rocco. Here we recommend a short stop to admire a breathtaking view that sweeps over the coast from Camogli to Genoa and sometimes up to the Maritime Alps, and to buy the typical gallette del marinaio at the local Maccarini bakery.
Armed with a hat, water and sunscreen, you set off on the path that leads to Punta Chiappa. Initially the scenic route winds through the typical houses, then descends towards the sea passing through the village of San Nicolò, with a small pretty medieval church; a series of long and easy stairways leads us to our destination. Punta Chiappa is made up of a tongue of rock (the rock of the Portofino park is called conglomerato) that extends towards the sea. There are no services of any kind or shade, just rocks to lean on and a ladder that allows access to the clearest and cleanest sea imaginable.
After the bath two alternatives: walk up to San Rocco (you may take a variant of the path, in order to make a loop route), or move to the nearby Porto Pidocchio, where some ferries stop on the San Fruttuoso – Camogli route. Attention, not all ferries stop in Porto Pidocchio, inquire well about the timetables! Once in Camogli, an uphill path takes you back to San Rocco in about an hour.
Porto Pidocchio is a tiny group of houses (there is a tavern not always open), once inhabited by the fishermen of Camogli during the months dedicated to tuna fishing. The men during that period left their wives in Camogli and lived in these huts in the place closest to the Tonnara.
Someone suggests Ca’ delle mogli as an etymology for the name of the town, but other origins are actually more probable. Today one of these huts has been transformed into a Fishing Museum. The Tonnara di Camogli is one of the few in Italy still active.
As an alternative to the paths in the Portofino Park, we propose here other trekking routes in Liguria.
