The path of the Gods

“A beautiful walk through an ancient path, to admire breathtaking views and live history, starring at iconic landmarks of the Amalfi coast you will feel closer to the Gods”

The path of the gods entrance sign

Welcome home. This time I will tell you about one of the many beautiful places around the area where I was born. Sometimes we travel to the other side of the world to see something that it’s right under our nose, the Path of the Gods is something I discovered a few years ago, since then every time I come back home to visit my family I always go for a walk with the Gods…

Introduction

The Path of the Gods is a time travel experience back to the ancient Greeks period. The trail owns its name from the ancient Greek Gods who used to come here to save Ulysses from the mermaids. Since then the trail has not been affected by technology and human being, it is exactly the same thanks to the local institution’s efforts, which have preserved the trail and maintained its old charm. Every year thousands of tourists visit the trail to admire the landscapes and beauties of this astonishing hiking route such as the beautiful Capri and its Faraglioni, or the Li Galli island (where Ulysses was trapped). During the path, you will find numerous caves, one of them, the Grotta del Biscotto (the biscuit cave), which hosts centuries-old houses. On the way to Positano, there is a shepherd who produces a local cheese (that you can buy), and he is not the only one, the trail is still used, now like before, by local farmers to transport their goods or to graze their herds.     

Afterward, along the route, you will find Fontana Vecchia di Monte Pertuso (old fountain of Monte Pertuso, Monte=mount, and pertuso=hole), where I suggest you take a break and look at the holes in the mountain. The legend narrates that they were made by the Madonna (Jesus’ mother) during a fight with Lucifer, in reality, they are the effect of thousands of years of erosion.

Although it looks everything perfect and dreamy, bear in mind the Path of Gods is a mountain trail with many exposed parts, with beautiful views but also unprotected precipices. There have been fatal incidents in the past, so behave accordingly, to fully enjoy the experience.

118 Ambulance – Forestry Corps and fire emergency 1515 – Fire brigade 115

Path of the Gods Google map

Arrange your trip

You have few options when arranging your visit, but ideally, you want to walk from the top to the bottom in a gentle walk down the hill, so I advise you to start in Bomerano, a little town 650m above the sea level in the city of Agerola. The path goes through Nocelle and continues through an ancient trail until Positano (9 km) for a total time of 4/5 hours (it can take you longer or not, it depends on how you do the trail and how many times you stop.

Once you arrive in Bomerano there are a few trails available:

• The circular trail is the best option if you want to start and finish in Bomerano. It’s the shortest one (2/3 hours) and allows you to see the sunset. Afterward, you can have dinner in town and taste the local food; 
• The upper trail, begins in Bomerano (Agerola) and ends at Santa Maria Del Castello, is slightly more difficult because it goes higher up the hill;
• The Down trail, is the one that goes through Nocelle, is easier and more famous;

The path itself is not really difficult, it doesn’t require particular training and even if you are not familiar with the area it’s almost impossible to get lost due to the sign along the trail. According to the period you visit, it can be very challenging due to the hot weather (June to August), so I advise you to do it in a cooler period or if you go in the summertime, do it in the early morning or late afternoon.

Click on the image to zoom in and check map details. Map provided by https://www.giovis.com/cartine.htm

When arranging your visit the first thing you need to plan is where do you want to finish? Most of the people like to walk until Positano, so they start in the early morning in order to arrive in Positano in the afternoon and enjoy the rest of the day in this beautiful town. Once in Positano you can spend some time on the beach to relax, or go around the town (or both). In order to decide what to do, you need to think of the second thing to plan: How do you want to come back home? From Positano, you can take a Ferry to Sorrento, Amalfi, and Naples, or a bus to Sorrento (it stops in front of the train station to Naples) and Amalfi. There is also an extra option, a taxi, but this is a very expensive one, just consider that a trip to Sorrento will cost you €120, while the bus is €2 each. Bear in mind that the public transports terminate very early, for example, the last bus to Sorrento in the summertime is around 19:30, and everybody wants to take the last one, so you have to queue to board the bus and you may have to stand the whole time because they load the bus till the last inch. If you take the Ferry consider that the dock in Sorrento is quite far from the city center, and you will have to walk up the hill for 30 minutes more or less.

Click here to open the link to the Ferry company from or to Positano. 

Click here to open the link to the bus company to and from Sorrento.

Big advice, buy your tickets in advance, especially for the bus, buy the ticket before you go to Positano, it will save you a lot of time!

My suggestion

I visit the Path of the Gods in the summertime, when I go back to visit my family, I stay overnight in Agerola so I can start the trail in the early morning (6 am), arrive in Positano in the afternoon, relax on the beach for few hours and then take the bus home around 18, have a comfortable return journey and return to Positano another day. This way you can enjoy both experiences without stressing yourself too much. Positano is a beautiful town and you want to visit it well relaxed, with nice fresh clothes, ready for dinner on a nice balcony to enjoy the beauty of Positano night view.

How to reach Bomerano, the starting point

It all depends on where you depart:

• From Castellammare di Stabia there is a direct bus to Bomerano and it take 45 minutes more or less; Bus timetable (please refer to www.sitabus.it)
• From Sorrento you have 3 options: take the bus Sorrento-Amalfi and then Amalfi-Bomerano or, take the train to Castellammare di Stabia (Circumvesuviana train, stop Via Nocera) and then take the bus to Bomerano (see above for timetable); or according to the number of people, you can rent a shuttle Sorrento-Bomerano for €75 (up to 3 people) or €115 (up to 8 people);
• From Amalfi take a bus Amalfi-Bomerano (the bus company is always the same www.sitabus.it);
• From Naples you can take the train to Castellammare di Stabia or the bus from the ferry stop near Porta di Massa where the boats to Capri and Ischia leaves. Easy to find if you come from Piazza Municipio;

What to bring: Equipment

The path of the Gods is 8 km long and it takes at least 4 hours to be completed, so it is not really a walk in the park, you must be organized with the right clothes and gear. Usually, tourists do the path of the Gods between April and October, when the temperature is on average around 20 degrees (with the pick of 37/40 around July and August), so clothes are a really important choice. Wear trekking shoes and comfortable light clothes, possibly cotton one and not synthetic materials, wear something that let your body breathe and keep you cool. A t-shirt and shorts will be perfect, you don’t need long trousers because you won’t pass through bushes, it’s always an open path and there are no mosquitos.

• Bottle of water;
• Food;
• Hiking shoes;
• Sun cream;
• Hat;
• Camera for unforgettable memories;
• Binoculars, if you are happy to take pictures just with your phone;
• Backpack around 20/30 litres to hold all your stuff;

The end of the Path of the Gods in Nocelle and the beginning of stairs that leads to Positano

Photography

Photography wise you will need a wide-angle lens, not particularly fast (f4 or above will be ok, most of the time you will be under a clear sky without shadows), a flash on the other hand is essential if you are planning to take portraits, due to the high difference of exposure between the subject and the background. A telephoto lens will give you the flexibility to focus on some landscape details, so bring it with you but remember not to overload your backpack because you gonna need a bottle of water and something to eat, (untouched and uncontaminated trail also means there is no shop, it’s you the nature and the sun…). The tripod is not really necessary, I never took it with me and I never missed it, you have a lot to walk and the tripod would be a huge limitation to your movements. To complete your gear selection I would take some filters, a polarising one would be a great choice to regulate the color of the sky and sea. I never used an ND filter even if I always take it with me. The last time I was there I had a Tamron 35-150 f2.8-4 and I never took it off (also a flash and polarising filter).   

Conclusion

The trail from Bomerano to Positano is beautiful, relaxing and easy to do, although it's not the only option and, it's quite long, it isfor sure the most satisfying and rewarding, plan it well and you can spend some time in Positano and enjoy a breathtaking sunset.

Positano sunset

Thank you very much for reading my post, I hope you found it interesting and it answered all your questions about the path of the Gods. If you have any further questions or just need advice, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I will be very happy to help you.

The very end of the Path of the Gods. The last steps before the main street in Positano

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