Alta Via dei Monti Liguri - Beigua Section

The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri is Liguria's premier long-distance footpath, running some 440 kilometres along the mountain watershed from Ventimiglia near the French border to Ceparana in the east, and its Beigua section is among the most scenic and accessible stages for day and multi-day hikers. This stretch crosses the Beigua UNESCO Global Geopark, a protected massif rising steeply just inland from the coast between Genoa and Savona, where the trail balances along the ridge that divides the streams flowing north to the Po Valley from those tumbling south to the sea. Over roughly 18 kilometres with around 900 metres of cumulative ascent, the route climbs through beech woodland and open grassland balds toward the summit area of Monte Beigua at 1287 metres, with extraordinary panoramas that on clear days stretch from the Maritime and Cottian Alps in the north to the Ligurian Sea and Corsica in the south, an unusual vantage where high mountains and the Mediterranean are visible at once. The geopark is noted for its geology of ophiolite rocks and ancient seabed formations, and in autumn the ridge becomes one of Italy's great corridors for migrating raptors, with honey buzzards and other birds of prey funnelling along the crest. The Alta Via is waymarked with its distinctive red-and-white AV markers alongside CAI blazes, and refuges and villages along the wider route provide accommodation for those walking multiple stages. Terrain is mixed mountain path of grass, rock, and forest track, exposed on the ridge to wind and sudden weather, so hikers should carry layers, water, and a map even on the well-marked sections. This Beigua stage can be reached from coastal towns such as Arenzano and Varazze, making it possible to combine a sea-level start with a high mountain ridge in a single demanding but rewarding day on one of Italy's classic high-level trails.