The Trans-Liguria climbs to the crests of the Ligurian Alps in the trail mecca of Finale Ligure and winds its way along the Alta Via through the hinterland of the coastal mountains. The route branches off from this main route to eat and sleep or for a very special, rewarding trail. If you have a little more than five days, you can even extend the route to include the stage towns of Pigna and/or Apricale.
The tour: from Finale Ligure to Ventimiglia
- Length: 242.7 kilometres
- Uphill: 8865 metres in altitude
- Downhill: 8865 metres in depth
- Duration 5 days
- Difficulty: difficult
The 5 stages
- Day 1: Finale Ligure - Ormea, 63.2 km / 2230 m elevation gain / 1500 tm, shuttle to Colle Melogno possible
- Day 2: Ormea - Molini di Triora, 43.5 km / 1475 m elevation gain / 1735 tm, shuttle to Colle di Nava possible, battery charging option: San Bernardo / Mendatica
- Day 3: Molini di Triora - Realdo, 34.5 km / 1900 hm / 1350 tm
- Day 4: Realdo - Pigna, 41 km / 1450 m elevation gain / 2210 tm
- Day 5: Pigna - Ventimiglia, 60.5 km / 1810 m / 2070 tm, shuttle to Rifugio Gouta possible
You can find the GPX data for the Trans-Liguria tour in our DK tour portal
At this point, you will find external content that complements the article. You can display and hide it with a click.
Shuttles
In almost every town along the Ligurian coast, you will find shuttle companies that can transport you up a few hundred metres in altitude. This makes particular sense with an e-MTB, as charging facilities are rare along the Alta Via. Depending on the battery capacity, you may need to take a second battery with you, be very economical or use a shuttle or full-service provider.
Best touring time
Liguria is generally accessible as a bike destination almost all year round. However, you should avoid the period from mid-January to mid-March, as it can be cold and wet here and snow is not uncommon at higher altitudes. The same applies to midsummer from mid-July to the beginning of September, when temperatures are high and the coasts are crowded. May, June, September, October and November are ideal for the high crossings of the tour presented here. In rare snowy winters, you should enquire about the amount of residual snow for a tour in May.
Logistics
You can organise this tour yourself. Please note the luggage restrictions (rucksack including charger and second battery). Alternatively, luggage can be transported by shuttle companies or taxis. The return journey from Ventimiglia to Finale Ligure can be made by train. The regional trains take bikes at no extra cost. trenitalia.com
The more comfortable option is a guided stage tour, where accommodation is also organised. Information and dates at trailxperience.com
The EMTB report: Summit and sea
We are barely two hours on the road. We are sitting on the first summit, the sun is rising. The white-spotted three-thousand metre peaks of Piedmont greet us from the hinterland, the Mediterranean glistens in front of us. The start of our crossing of the western part of Liguria, the first menu course, so to speak. The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri - a long-distance hiking trail with a melodious name. Always along the Ligurian coast, from Tuscany to Ventimiglia in the west. 442 kilometres, always along the Ligurian border ridge. A dream for e-mountain bikers? Not quite. Some parts of the Alta Via are a uniformly wide track, others are impossibly rough. That's why: although the Alta Via is supposed to be our main artery, thanks to the e-bike we want to allow ourselves the luxury of turning off the Alta Via wherever beautiful scenery beckons - sometimes for fun on fine trails, sometimes to explore a village from the Middle Ages.
Recharged with Ligurian wind energy and fuelled by regional cuisine, we climb the ridges the next morning. We head westwards in a wide arc. Our final destination is Ventimiglia, the lively border town beyond which the cappuccino costs three times as much and only tastes half as good. There are three of us travelling. Like me, Steffi and Heiko have been travelling through the coastal part of Liguria for years. The only thing we haven't tried yet is a stage tour. It's not yet clear where our e-bikes will come into their own and where we'll have to drag them up a ridge. We want to explore the areas of Liguria that have not yet been developed by bike tourism. But we start in the Liguria that everyone knows.
Finale Ligure it is. Soak up the atmosphere, visit your favourite café in Finalborgo and dip your feet in the sea. An ideal starting point and playground for our tour into the hinterland. But then: off we go! We set off in the dark. At Colle di Melogno, the road leads through fortifications dating back to the war. In the light of our lamps, we turn left onto a path, leaving the well-trodden paths that a few hours later will be firmly in the hands of the shuttle bikers. The red and white markings with the letters AV stand for Alta Via. They will guide us for the next few days until they peter out at the sea.
Morning mist wafts through the largest contiguous birch forest in Liguria. Wild grey horses, which live in freedom up here, emerge from the foggy nothingness. They trot past us and disappear as quickly as they came. White horses in front of a white tree. A moment just for us. At Monte Carmo, the e-bike loses its advantage for a short, tricky pushing section. But it's worth it. We step outside, the sky has now turned a pastel golden-orange colour. Recently, people here have been asked not to tackle the last few hundred metres to the summit cross by bike. The rising sun begins to warm the outside. A freshly prepared mocha does the same on the inside. The sea glistens close enough to touch and yet is already 1350 metres below us.
The day still has a lot in store for us. First of all, a thoroughbred trail firework display down to the Giogo di Toirano. Bends, waves, rocks, roots. At the pass, we meet an almost 70-year-old man. He has ridden the exact opposite of our bikes up here and is interested in the technology of our bikes. But it's nothing for him, he says. He has a very good bike. It must be 25 years old, without suspension, and perhaps still fitted with the first tyres and the first brake pads. For a long time we hear squeaking and rattling, and I am delighted by his laughter and his view of biking things.
For the rest of the day, we conquer a pristine part of the Alta Via. A juicer without motorised assistance, but a real challenge even with an electric motor. At Colle San Bernardo, you have a choice: just before the pass, follow the path known here as Via Alpina into the Tanaro Valley and continue to the left of the river up the valley to Ormea. Or if you still have some energy left and a few bars on the display, you can continue a little further on the Alta Via. But be warned: from here onwards, it is as beautiful as it is hard, and the odd pushing section awaits the e-biking adventurer.
Molini di Triora: the witch lives
Ormea has catered for and looked after us. Freshly fortified, we head out into the morning air. It's hard to believe that just a few kilometres towards the sea, it's the middle of summer and people are languishing like sardines on the narrow strip of beach. Rolling in, along the Tanaro river and up towards Colle di Nava. The red and white AV markings lead us directly from the top of the pass to a ruin. If you can get the power from your legs and motor to the ground in a controlled manner here, you've outgrown the beginner stage. The uphill waddle is short-lived. Soon we are rolling playfully westwards on a forest and meadow path. We cross the pass road several times to follow the mostly well-maintained hiking trail.
If you want to save energy, you always have the option of staying on tarmac. Shortly before San Bernardo di Mendatica, we are surprised by a gem of a trail, exposed along the slope, past ruined stone houses from another era. By now the sun is heating up. San Bernardo di Medatica shines with a fountain that supplies crystal-clear water. We are now travelling on tracks that Mussolini once had built for military purposes. With every metre of ascent, Liguria delivers what we had hoped for: Views of endless nature, a few cows, us bikers. Nothing else and nobody else. The Garezzo tunnel marks our highest point for the day. Beyond it, the Val Argentina spreads out before us.
Endless mountain ranges, finely shaded in colour and shimmering to the horizon. 1775 metres above sea level. Net. Our hotel is at 475 metres. And everything in between glistens as if painted in the afternoon sun. The easy route down to Molini follows the military track and takes in a few trails to finally allow bikers to fly almost vertically from the former forest workers' town of Triora to Molini di Triora in picturesque hairpin bends. The last witch trials in Italy are said to have taken place in Triora. We take a look around and believe it. We have a little adventure in store for us. An increasingly narrow path leads us over a grassy ridge that couldn't look more tempting. The finest pleasure biking. For a long moment, everything else seems far away.
We roll into Molini. The mills that were used to process wood and grain once stood down here. The village smells of Pane di Triora, which comes out of the village bakery's oven in the evenings and early mornings. There was no alternative for us: a night at Mariachiara. She runs the Hotel Santo Spirito with her brother. Holy Spirit. Mariachiara will be remembered. Always skilful. Always eloquent. And with the deepest voice you can imagine. Seemingly ageless for over a decade that I've known her. It's very cosy here. And the food? Home-grown produce. Prepared by brother Andrea. Simple. Authentic. And always excellent. Heiko looks up briefly: "She's about to mount her broom and ride off." Heiko is hungry and the red wine is excellent.
Over Liguria's highest peak
Thankfully, our route is not about the direct route, but the most beautiful one. The Saccarello is calling, high above us. At 2201 metres, it towers above everything that can be climbed and cycled in Liguria. So it's a meditative climb back up to the Garezzo tunnel, through which we entered Val Argentina yesterday. And directly behind it, steeply uphill. On the edge of rideability. But how worth it! The Saccarello is not just a mountain. It is an elongated mountain range, gently sloping to the north and almost vertical to the south. The journey always takes us along the edge. Sweat and exertion can taste so sweet.
If you catch a crystal-clear day in late spring or autumn, you will see Corsica hovering over the sea from here, 200 kilometres away, like a mirage. The ten-metre-high statue of Christ on a secondary peak is much easier to see. Il Redentore is one of 20 statues of the Saviour on various peaks in Italy. It is supposed to protect the surrounding valleys. The Pope once wanted it that way. We sit for a long time at the summit of the Saccarello, enjoying the peace and quiet. The sun sets and colours the light golden. Sitting and looking. The normal route leads from here in a wide arc around the Saccarello. Or you can be really sure of what you're doing on your bike. In that case, there is an alternative via a partly grim, partly exposed trail directly down the western flank. A visual treat. But not recommended for tired heads.
From Colle Ardente, the route continues, always technical, to another gem of this tour: in the picturesque little village of Realdo, perched on a rocky outcrop, people seem to have decided to stop time in the 1950s. Right now, because it's just right the way it is. Not only are we heading into a labyrinthine village from a bygone era, but also into a linguistic and cultural island of its own. The village was once connected to three neighbouring valleys. After the Second World War, Briga Marittima was divided into a Ligurian, a Piedmontese and a French part. Brigascan, which only a few people still speak today, is a puzzle for those of us with a reasonable command of Italian. Understanding it is almost impossible. Is it because of this language barrier? We were looking forward to a culinary treat in the small but excellent Osteria Desegna. Our table was reserved, but the next day. Today: all dark. Off-season rest day. We won't soon forget the improvised grillata in the middle of the deserted village street of Realdos. Giancarlo runs the small bar directly below the osteria. Here you can get a coffee with a hug and a genuine interest in your well-being, while on the floor above you can enjoy the best Corniglio alla Ligure far and wide. If you're not mistaken about the day.
Almost a little dolomitic
We sleep in the simplest of surroundings in the Rifugio Realdo. Giancarlo's brioches are hot and crispy, the espresso real. Then it's back up again. Past the marvellous Borniga, the moderately steep ascent is a pleasure. Our first stop is the Balcone di Marta. A mountain like a Swiss cheese, pierced with a confusing network of tunnels from wartime. People were entrenched here. But there was never any fighting. Everything changes for a brief moment before it becomes more and more Mediterranean as we continue on our way. The massif of Monte Torragio is like a rocky outcrop, a last rebellion of the Alpine foothills. A strategically valuable barrier in times of war. So the Italian mountain troops grabbed a pick and shovel and carved a path as wide as a towel into the rock. The path becomes narrower and narrower, and suddenly we find ourselves in the middle of these striking rock needles. Even steep uphill sections can be ridden perfectly. I have often struggled here completely unpowered!
However, a short, rope-secured passage of a few metres forces you off your bike. With the view that opens up here, there is nothing better than recovering from the strenuous climb. From here, it's a gentle ride towards the Mediterranean. Even if the distance we still have ahead of us is impressive. And the many counter-climbs that keep interrupting the rushing ride. We are often tempted to leave the Alta Via once again and fly down into the valley on one of the many trails. And if you have the time, you should do so. Pigna, the picturesque village that clings to the hillside like a giant honeycomb and where you will find the best café in the region with the finest raspberry tarts. Or Apricale, another village straight out of a picture book. Here, a dreamlike Albergo Diffuso invites you to linger. A hotel with rooms scattered throughout the village in ancient houses and towers, each with its own story to tell. And of course Dolceacqua with its world-famous stone bridge.
Yes, this part of Italy tells stories. It's a new experience for me to be able to be more liberal with the altitude metres on an e-bike and to search for the most beautiful descents like a trail truffle pig. Each one ends at a place that is worth visiting anyway. We continue towards the coast, past the ruins of old barracks. Slickrock, sandstone moulds, blocky rocks. A veritable thunderstorm, which we spend in the walls of a half-collapsed World War II bunker. An insider tip at the end: keep a little to the right, pedal hard twice more, and we dive into a trail that leads us along a primeval forest-like overgrown stream to spit us out directly in Ventimiglia. From solitude to chaos, especially on Fridays when there's a big market here. Minutes later, we are sitting on the beach, a drink in our hands, our gaze fixed on the low sun. Impressions like from a film that will be available to watch again and again from now on.
Info on the Ligurian Alps region
Shuttle provider
- Finale Ligure:
www.finaleligurefreeride.com
www.bikeshuttle-finaleligure.com
outdoormind.de/bike/finale-ligure-bike-shuttle
- Ormea/ Colle di Nava:
www.alpidelmareoutdoor.com
- Molini di Triora:
www.riviera-bike.com
www.atipicooutdoorescape.com
- Pigna/ Dolceaqua:
www.super-natural.it
Maps/Info
Hiking and biking maps are available, but their quality varies greatly. Apart from the relevant but very rough KOMPASS maps, it is mainly maps from two publishers that are helpful:
- Instituto Geografico Centrale - Carta die Sentieri e die Rifugi
- Edizioni del Magistero - Carta die sentieri 1:25.000 (IM3 / IM5 / IM8 / SV3 / SV4 / SV6)
The Italian Alpine Club has a portal to the Alt Via dei Monti Liguri.
Guided tours
The tour described here is offered by the German tour operator TrailXperience in three different versions (E-MTB Trail / E-MTB bike&Culture / MTB Trail) as a 6-stage crossing. All information about the tour and dates at TrailXperience.com
Accommodation
Finale Ligure:
Bike Hotels Finale Ligure - Overview of establishments equipped for bikers, bikehotelsfinaleligure.it
Camping and shuttle Finale Ligure, finalefreerideoutdoorvillage.com
B&B del Cantoniere at Colle Melogno:
albergoitaliaormea.it
villapinus.it
Molini di Triora:
ristorantesantospirito.com
- Realdo:
realdovive.it/en/rifugio
realdo.eu (Giancarlo's private room and bar)
- Pigna:
ristoranteterme.com
- Apricale:
muntaecara.it
Eating/Drinking
With pleasure. A lot. Authentically Ligurian. The basic rule is: where the locals settle, you can eat well. Naturally, tourist traps are popular near the beach.
- Finale Ligure:
Ai Cuatro Canti: fine authentic osteria in enchanting Finalborgo
facebook.com/pg/OsteriaTradizioneLigure/about
- Realdo:
Osteria Desegna
osteria-desgena.business.site
- Pigna:
ristoranteterme.com
