Liguria: Park of Monte di Portofino
Wednesday 18 – Thursday 19 October 2023
Let’s spend together two days in a very special place, hiking nearby the Ligurian sea, in a protected natural area of stunning beauty. We will spend the night in an agritourism/refuge which is only reachable by foot, right in the middle of the park, above San Fruttuoso bay.
The Promontory of Portofino, the most northern protected coastal area of the western Mediterranean Sea, shows views and landscapes among the most famous in the world.
Formed by giant conglomerate deposits overlying limestone banks, it has geomorphologic and microclimatic features creating, in a limited territory, very different environments.
Within short distances, we can move from the cool forests of the northern mountainside to sunny cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean world, from the civilization of the chestnut to that of the olive tree, from the peasant traditions to the sea and the fishing industry.
It has been a protected area since 1935 and hosts one of the largest concentrations of flora of the Mediterranean area, a large variety of birds and invertebrate as well as important historical and architectural treasures.
To go: at 7.15am meeting point at Milano Centrale Railway Station, at the front of the platform of Regional train 3015 (headed to Sestri Levante). At 7.25am train to Camogli (a. 9.53am)
Day 1
Hike: Camogli (0 m), San Rocco (m 220), San Niccolò di Capodimonte (m 90), Punta Chiappa (0 m), Semaforo Nuovo (m 430), Pietre Strette (m 460), Località Molini (m 220)
Picnic and possible swim at Punta Chiappa
Ascent: 720 m / Descent: 550 m
Minimum altitude: 0 m / Maximum altitude: 475 m
Walking time (excluding stops): 4.30 hours – Km 9
Dinner and overnight at Agririfugio Molini
Day 2
Breakfast at Agririfugio Molini.
Hike: Località Molini (m 220), San Fruttuoso (0 m), Base Zero (m 230), Prato (m 240), Portofino (m 0), Santa Margherita Ligure (m 0). At San Fruttuoso: possible swim or visit to the abbey. Picnic at Base Zero
Ascent: 320 m / Descent: 520 m
Minimum altitude: 0 m /Maximum altitude: 260 m
Walking time (excluding stops): 4.30 hours – km 11
To come back: at 5.46pm IC680 train from Santa Margherita Ligure to Milano Centrale arriving at 7.57pm.
Difficulty: medium (some steep stretches)
Equipment: 40/50 l backpack, trekking boots and socks, trekking poles (if you use them), comfortable clothes in layers, rain jacket, 1-liter bottle of water (canteen), packed lunch for the first day (it’s also possible to buy some focaccia at Camogli), swimming suit and towel, towel for agritourism, change of clothes, overnight case, flip-flops for beach and agritourism, identity card
Overnight: Agririfugio Molini https://agririfugiomolini.it/en/
Two multiple rooms (5 beds) and one double room. Sheets provided. Towel needed. Toilets shared.
Dinner and breakfast with local products.
Cost: €50. Includes guide, organizing and insurance. Does not include:
– overnight HB at Agririfugio Molini: €80 in multiple room, €90 in double room, dinner (drinks excluded), breakfast. It’s possible to pay with credit card or in cash
– Train tickets: Milano Camogli €15.50. S. Margherita Ligure-Portofino – Milano from €13.90 to €23.50
– Possible entrance to the Abbey of san Fruttuoso €8.50: https://fondoambiente.it/abbazia-di-san-fruttuoso-eng/
– Possible bus or boat from Portofino to Santa Margherita Ligure on the second day
Minimum 6 participants, maximum 11