Alta Via Baia Del Sole

The signposts (trailsign  & ) mark the start of the route from the outskirts of Albenga, at the crossroads of Via San Calocero and Salita Madonna di Fatima. The first stretch is paved and in common with the route of the Via Iulia Augusta. From the crossroads at the gate of the former Benedictine abbey, you leave the Roman road, following the paved bend uphill (signposted with two red dots  ).

At the height of  ‘Casa rossa’, a turreted country residence, turn right onto the mule track closed off by a barrier, which reconnects, higher up, to a wide, original track that continues in bends. At the crossroads on the summit of Monte Rosso, after a one and a half kilometre walk, turn left along the forest road on the water divide, from here you can enjoy panoramic views of the outlet of the Centa River and Gallinara Island.  

At a pass on the ridge you will come across two close crossroads: keep left at the first and then right at the second. Continue on the west-facing slope and the dirt track narrows into a path. Keep going straight on afterwards you reach a crossroads and two minutes later, you will see a wayside shrine. Shortly afterwards, at another signposted crossroads, keep to the right and you come to a ruin surrounded by bushes.

At the crossroads with the downhill path towards Capo Santa Croce, keep to the right, and a final uphill stretch leads to the eastern summit of Monte Bignone, with the summit cross, the remains of an observation post dating back to World War II and the ruins of the small barracks.

The path, still signposted with two red dots  , continues past a  where there is a votive shrine leading up to the western summit, the highest, which emerges from a sea of cistus bushes and offers a rewarding view. 

Shortly after, you head down to the pass below, where several routes cross: the Alta Via della Baia del Sole continues on an even level, avoiding the summit of Mount Castellaro. After about 500 metres, you come to a fork at a pass; here you turn right, head uphill and go to the opposite side of the water divide.

From the square in front of the Sanctuary, a steep track continues down along the ridge towards the road to Caso. The last, tough stretch is the one that leads up to the mill known as the ‘torre pisana’ (Pisan tower) with a 50-metre difference in height: a few more minutes and you reach the Crocetta pass, where there is a drinking fountain  in the square in front of the bar-restaurant. From here, take the San Bernardo scenic road downhill (trailsigns ), running alongside the ridge that slopes down from the summit of the Alpicella hill. A short path through the scrub cuts across two bends of the paved road, after which the view opens out over the Merula valley; after less than half a kilometre along the ridge, you reach the ruins of the 17th-century Church of San Bernardo (water fountain). Immediately after this, take a dirt road that leads up into mixed woodland, signposted , Sentiero Liguria and the REL Castello-Colla Micheri signpost.

Continuing along the cart track, bypassing the turnoff to the right for Colla Micheri, you then head up until you reach the top of Poggio Brea and its picnic area. From the summit, there's a quick drop in altitude as you follow the wide dirt track ( trail sign ) through an area without vegetation, taking care to follow the road in the direction of Poggio Balaie.

Having arrived at the crossroads at a small pass, you continue along the mule track to the right that bypasses the peak of Poggio Balaie and heads in the direction of a characteristic group of Aleppo pines, leading to the ‘casellone’, an ancient dry-stone construction for agro-pastoral use. 

Then the itinerary continues along the coast of Laigueglia, heading along the cart track on the right and continuing in the same direction at the next two crossroads. Once inside the pine wood, the  trail sign (signpost for Labirinto del Boschetto) must be followed carefully, until you come within sight of the two old windmills of Pilato. Continue from here by following the  trail sign, taking the paved road to the left. Follow the San Bernardo road for about a kilometre (at a first crossroads you have to go right and at a second, go left), enjoying numerous scenic views of the entire Baia del Sole.

You come to the gateway of the Heyerdahl property, walk alongside its enclosure walls and soon you will arrive at the magnificent old hamlet of Colla Micheri. Just in front of San Sebastiano Church, you take the path with red line and dot trail sign that follows the ridge through the woods, with an uphill slope that becomes steeper and steeper. At the first crossroads, bypass the turnoff to the right for Andora - Pinamare; pass a large masonry cistern and you will come to the ruins of the old Tagliaferro (or Casalin) mill, where there is a splendid view beyond the low lying scrub overgrown with cysts, broom, alaterni and lentisks.

You first go along via Cornice del Capo and then strada delle Catene for about 700 metres, and come to a splendid 19th-century residence facing a magnificent holm oak tree and arrive in front of the Air Force radar, situated where the old traffic light of Capo Mele once stood. Here, a very short turnoff to the left leads you up to a beautiful viewpoint.