Alta Via dei Monti Liguri

The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri runs the entire length of the Ligurian Alps — the coastal mountain range that separates the Italian Riviera from the Piedmont plain — from the French border at Cima Ventosa east to the Bocchetta di Altare pass near Savona. The route stays on or near the ridge crest for almost its entire length, which means the Mediterranean Sea is visible to the south and the Po Valley stretches to the horizon to the north for most of 440km.

The Ligurian Alps are a compact range — the highest point barely reaches 2200m — but their position directly above the sea creates dramatic terrain in a relatively short vertical distance. The south-facing slopes drop steeply to the Riviera coast, and the south wind carries Mediterranean moisture that makes the vegetation lush by Alpine standards. The ridgeline itself is frequently in cloud when the valleys are clear.

The route is linear and well-marked, using a combination of the ridge crest trail and variant routes through the chestnut and pine forests of the upper slopes. The waymarking is generally reliable but the network is dense and the trails are not universally maintained — off-season sections can be overgrown. The months of April-June and September-November are the practical windows: summer brings heat from the south, snow in the high sections in winter.

The food culture in Liguria is one of the most distinctive in Italy. The route descends regularly into towns where pesto (the original, made with small-leaf Genoese basil), focaccia, and the local pasta forms (trofie, trenette) are available at prices that reflect local rather than tourist economics. The towns along the route are working communities, not tourist resorts.

Most trail runners take 13-17 days. The elevation gain is deceptively large — the constant ridge-following with its short descents and reascents accumulates gain at a rate that exceeds what altitude profiles suggest.