It’s only been a few months since I returned from the heart of renaissance and medieval art, great food and the finest wines, gorgeous architecture and stunning landscapes dotted with cypress trees and vineyards.

You probably know what I’m talking about: it’s Tuscany. Although there are many things you can talk about when it comes to Tuscany, there is one particular fascinating detour you can take: Cinque Terre, Italy’s five beautiful fishing villages on the west coast of the Italian Riviera in Liguria.

Take me back to the Cinque Terre

Unfortunately, we only had one week to see the whole of Tuscany. Although we were staying in Pisa, I knew that Cinque Terre were only an hour or two away from us (depending on the method of transportation chosen, which in our case was a rental car) and that we’d need at least full day to see all the villages. So I felt I had to try, but I knew we only had time to visit one.

After much deliberation, I chose Manarola. I had seen so many stunning pictures of this colourful small village perched on a hillside by the sea, and I too had to capture that scene somehow. I knew I wanted a sunset shot and I knew that the angle from which I had to take my shot meant I would have to do some hiking (with a heavy camera, lenses and tripod) but I was sure it would all be worth it.

We left Pisa late morning. Despite the drive taking almost two hours, it was worth every minute. You start off with the views of the Tuscan landscape with cypress trees and vineyards, and then go on with views of the Italian Riviera with palm trees and a fresh sea breeze, and finally you are driving on high hills packed with woodland.

When we finally reached Manarola, we had to park our car on the outskirts as you can’t drive into the actual village. Then again, there aren’t many roads, with most buildings sitting at different levels of the hillside. There’s a paid parking area where you can leave your car and from then on, you need to go down a steep road.

As you’re walking down to the village, you’re surrounded by woodland and you can hear the sound of birds chirping and a stream of water finding its way to the sea. You then start seeing little houses by the stream – I wasn’t sure if I was living a fairy tale where smiling gnomes would suddenly come out of the houses and wave at me, or whether this was for real. As we walked on we got to a small square with a little church with benches out front that were occupied by a few elderly gentlemen having a chat and sharing a laugh or two. We had arrived in the heart of Manarola.

The houses were as colourful as they looked in pictures, old and full of character, sharing space with souvenir shops, a gelateria, and a number of highly-rated fish restaurants offering stunning dishes for seafood lovers and a great selection of fine Italian wine. At the bottom of the village were lots of little boats and the gorgeous, glittering, Ligurian sea.

I let myself take it all in for a while, inhaling the fresh sea air. Then I spotted the hill from where I had to capture my shot. We climbed all the way up again to the square and followed a little path that takes you past a steep incline. If you’re scared of heights, this hike is not for you, but if you don’t mind a little adventure, it’s fun. I wouldn’t say it was easy making our way up, though. In fact, I’m sure that if I walked on it could have been a far better angle than the one I chose. We reached a vantage point that gave us a good view of the scene. You could get to this path from the area where the fishing boats are. It’s not the most peaceful place for people with DSLR cameras, though. There are quite a few tourists on this path who will ask you to take pictures of them when they see you’re a photographer. I set up my tripod and camera and waiting for the sun to set. It was such a stunning view to watch fade into dusk. And then it was time to capture my shot.

It turns out my night shot was better than the sunset one, in which the colours just weren’t as vivid, with the angle of the sunlight not being optimal at that time of the year. As a reward, we chose to have dinner at one of the inviting fish restaurants nearby, walked all the way back up to the car, and drove back to Pisa.

I seriously regret not giving the Cinque Terre more time and I definitely want to go back to Manarola and also see the other four villages: Riomaggiore, Vernazza, Corniglia and Monterosso al Mare. Also, next time round, I will get the train from Pisa to Riomaggiore and, if it’s possible, hike my way through the villages. When we went there last, we were told that the costal path was not accessible, excluding the one between Vernazza and Corniglia, because of the risk of landslides.

Another option is to catch the train from village to village or, better, to go on one of the boat trips to hop from one village to another. There are one-day excursions as well from Pisa and Florence but I prefer seeing the villages at my own pace and going through paths and streets that aren’t popular among tourists. I might even consider staying for the night in one of the villages as, judging from my experience in Manarola, it would definitely be worthwhile staying around a little longer. That way I could even go for a swim – I heard the beach in Vernazza is stunning. Until next time, Cinque Terre!