Loop trail Punta Manara and the public (free) beaches of Riva Trigoso

This trail includes the Punta Manara Promontory trail with endless beautiful seascapes and the public beach of Riva Trigoso.

The trail starts close to a bus stop (Strada Parco) on the Via della Pace Nel Mondo in Sestri Levante (GE). Along this road it is possible to park free of charge.
We first walk a short distance through Riva Trigoso which is home to one of the oldest and most important Italian shipyards, currently owned by the Fincantieri company.
But we soon leave the houses and enter the public city park Colle di Monte Pagano, that covers a small hill.
From a naturalistic point of view, the hill of Monte Pagano offers a varied world of flora. The tree cover towards Sestri Levante includes holm oak (Quercus ilex), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), downy oak (Quercus pubescens), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), flowering ash (Fraxinus ornus), hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia) and chestnut (Castanea sativa). The undergrowth is dense with mesophilic vegetation and Mediterranean scrub. Among the shrubs predominate the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), the laurel (Laurus nobilis), the heather (Erica arborea). Towards the sea and the nucleus of Riva Trigoso we find terraced strips cultivated with olive trees (Olea europea)
In the park we find picnic tables at various places from which we have an impressive view over the sea.
When we have walked down again on the other side of the hill, we arrive at the torrente Petronio. Here we find a beautiful monumental bridge that is about three hundred years old.
We walk further in the direction of the sea and arrive at a lovely public beach. There are good facilities here such as showers, toilets and taps with drinking water, and there is also a wide choice of bars and restaurants. The trail continues on the beach where we can take a bath in the sea. Unfortunately I couldn't go for a swim myself. There was inland wind so there were big waves and a red flag was hoisted by the beach guards.
After leaving the beach we walk inland again to an entrance of the Promontory. We take the entrance point 5: Riva Levante.

The hiking trails of the Punta Manara Promontory are of medium difficulty, and equipped with benches and rest areas. To walk them it is important to follow the rules of behaviour of hiking tourism in protected natural areas: wear suitable shoes and bring the necessary water reserves with you, always keeping in mind that along the paths there are no sources of drinking water. On the summit of Monte Castello (not included in this trail) and in some other areas there are rest areas for groups, equipped with wooden tables and benches.
The promontory of Punta Manara extends for about 50 hectares and is crossed by over 10 km of paths, which show you unique natural environments, protected by the European Habitat Directive and belonging to the Natura 2000 Network (European protected area). Along the ring-shaped path, which runs along the three sides of the promontory at high altitude you can observe fantastic views of the jagged and rocky coast, which goes from Punta Mesco in the east, to the Portofino promontory in the west. A characteristic feature of the promontory is its vegetation variability which includes evergreen woods such as holm oak, cork oak, Mediterranean conifers and Mediterranean scrub but also deciduous woods typical of the Apennine environments. The fauna of the promontory is also varied and valuable, with both sedentary and migratory species, protected at European level.

We walk on a path that goes up quite steeply to Ginestra and from there we follow approximately the coast. In this way, our route covers almost the entire promontory trail.
After more than a kilometre from Ginestra we arrive at Punta Manara.

On the junction for the cape Manara there is an area equipped for groups. Access to the Manara tower is via a steep stone staircase. Once you are at the cape take care because there are no parapets. The promontory is seasonally home to several species of birds of prey: the Short-Toed Snake Eagle (Circaetus gallicus), the Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo), the perefine falcon (Falco pellegrino) and the Black Kite (Milvus migrans). Significant is the presence of the Tree Spurge (Euphorbia dendroides), a mediterranean shrub with a toxic lated, a relic of the tertiary with the particularity that this plant's leaves fall in the summer (aestivation).

After admiring the beautiful view of the Punta Manara, we continue along the coast. First towards Sestri Levante, later towards Madonna della Neve. We have many views on this stretch along the sea and the path is also very beautiful, often surrounded by pines. Once we have turned right and headed inland, the trail remains varied and lined with many flowering plants.

When we are back again at Ginestra we take a road that often consists of stairs back to the Santuario Nostra Signora del Soccorso.
And from there it is a few streets further to our starting point.

Some additional information:
The route consists of two rings and is designed in a clockwise direction.
Time spent: total 7 hours 54 minutes of which moving 2 hours 53 minutes.
Picnic tables are available at 1 / 3,9 / 4,6 kilometres from the beginning.
Drinking water at 0,5 / 2,3 / 8,2 kilometres from the beginning.
There is a lot of shade along the way. So this trail is also suitable for summer.
The track is medium from a technical point of view.
In the promontory trail there are often sections with stone-carved steps, the steps of which are often quite high. This means that you need a good physical condition to walk these stretches (but of course you can always sit down and slide down......)
I don't recommend just walking around this area. There were several trails (not included in this route) that had an indication of dangerous. So it is unwise to run the risk of accidentally ending up on these trails.

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