HIKING TRAIL – “Punta Baffe – The Pirate Tower Trail”

Circular excursion between Riva Trigoso and the Punta Baffe Tower, among Mediterranean scrub, views of the Gulf of Tigullio and the history of the Genoese watchtowers.

Self-guided route: check the map, GPX track, weather and conditions before setting off.

We start from Riva Trigoso, behind the station, where the town almost immediately gives way to vegetable gardens, terraced olive trees and scattered houses. The climb is gentle at the beginning, on a small road that soon becomes a dirt road, and leads the gaze towards the sea and towards Punta Manara, on the other side of the gulf.

As you gain altitude, the vegetation changes. The Mediterranean scrub thickens, sandstone slabs emerge among the shrubs, and the path offers natural stops, some with benches, where the Gulf of Tigullio opens up in all its width.

The reference point is Colle del Lago, a panoramic crossroads at over 300 meters, an ideal rest area before the last stretch towards the tower. From here the ridge of the Costa di Punta Baffe accompanies you to your destination.

The Punta Baffe Tower, built in the sixteenth century by the Republic of Genoa to spot Saracen incursions, is the heart of the itinerary: perfectly preserved, it once interacted with the towers of Punta Manara and Punta Moneglia along the coast. From here the view extends from Portofino to the first offshoots of the Cinque Terre.

The circular return passes through a wilder stretch, among rocks, low shrubs and glimpses of the coast until it rejoins the outward path and descends towards Riva Trigoso.

Less frequented than the more central routes of Sestri Levante, it offers a sense of authenticity and tranquility that is rare on the Ligurian coast in high season.