Foce di Dosso - Valle di Malacqua (REL route GSPA67766PE)

Trail GSPA67766PE is a secondary vertical connecting route within the municipality of Levanto. The track starts at Foce di Dosso, at 428 metres above sea level, an important geographical pass and historic hiking crossroads marked by the Church of San Nicolao and crossed by the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre (AV5T). Leaving the ridge line, the route descends steadily and decisively inland, entering a shaded woodland gorge dominated by dense chestnut groves and riparian vegetation. The trail follows old timber-extraction tracks and forest paths, rapidly losing elevation until it reaches the gorge floor, where it meets the branches of the Valle di Malacqua, also known as the Rio Malacqua valley. This route is mainly used as a technical connection by hikers and mountain bikers seeking to combine inland itineraries towards Lavaggiorosso, Foce di Lavaggio or the old commercial route known as the Via dei Monti.

• Official mapping-management notice: in the register of the Liguria hiking network, this route is classified with the note “trail markers absent”. As this is a secondary connection in dense woodland, the markings in the field may be faded or absent. A GPS device with offline maps, such as OpenStreetMap, is essential to avoid missing the correct junctions.
• Wear hiking boots with a lugged sole: the steep gradient and the constant presence of damp leaves or mud on the gorge floor may make the route very slippery.
• Avoid the route during or immediately after heavy rainfall: the Valle di Malacqua collects water from the surrounding hillside streams; the clay-rich forest surface becomes saturated with mud and the approach to the valley floor may be hazardous because of slippery rocks.