Path Of The Gods, Amalfi Coast

Published by Pintsize Explorer at August 3, 2017

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Italy has some stunning scenery, none more famous than the coastal roads that run along the Amalfi Coast. One of the best tips I was given when visiting, was to head up into the hills above Positano and hike along the Path of The Gods, a ragged cliff top hike, that’ll give you incredible views of the Amalfi Coast and Capri below.

We started the hike in the reverse direction that most people would walk due to not having enough time in our schedule, which means we began in the small square by a pastel pink coloured church. There were clean public toilets here and a quirky info point, which was actually a helpful lady manning her own freshly squeezed lemon stand!

From here we walked along several narrow pathways past many local houses and several B&B’s. It amazes me that people live tucked up all those passageways with no road access and just a million and one steps to get anywhere. Even better, I loved that there were actually B&B’s hidden away up here where you could totally emerge yourself into a world away from your everyday life. THE DREAM.

The previous year to this trip, we’d visited Cinque Terre and loved the coastal hikes between the villages. This hike was very similar to that, and made a wonderful break from the busy tourist towns such as Sorrento. We spent just over two hours along the trail, and on our way back stopped by Il Chiosco Del Sentiero Degli Del, for one of their frozen lemon slushi’s. Think of a slush puppy but made with real lemons! Refreshing, cool, and gives you some serious brain freeze if you slurp it too fast!

About The Trail

The Path of The Gods, or The Sentiero Degli Dei as it’s referred to in Italian, connects the small villages of Bomerano to Nocella. The hiking trail is 7.8km long and takes roughly 3 hours depending on your fitness. Most of the terrain is relatively flat making this trail suitable for people of all ages, however be prepared for the occasional scrambling over and around boulders during the trek. It’s important to know there are no proper cemented pathways or any sturdy handrails for support. There are also several sheer cliff edges (especially around the photogenic viewpoints), so if you are with children (or unreliable adults!), then keep a close eye on them.

Know Before You Go

Make sure you have comfy shoes, a good amount of water, sunscreen, and layers. There are no toilets along the way, and only one small cafe towards the very end of the trail in Nocelle, where you’ll be able to buy a well-deserved iced lemon slushy drink!

Where To Start

Whilst you can walk in either direction along the trail, the recommended route would be from Bomerano to Nocelle, as you’ll be hiking in the direction of the majority of the views.

Saying this, we didn’t have time to hike the entire trail plus the travel back and forth with public transport. Instead, we took our scooter directly to Nocelle, where we hiked for an hour east bound, before hiking back to our starting point. If you have the time to hike the entire length of the trail then I’d highly recommend you put a half day aside for this!

How To Get There

No matter where along the Amalfi Coast you are staying, there will be public transport that you can take to and from start and end points. For ease, it would be ideal if were staying in Positano, but that’s not imperative. You’ll just need to allow time for the extra chunk of travel that’s all.

From Positano: Take a bus to Amalfi, connect onto another bus to Agerola, and then walk 1.5km to Bomerano where the trail begins.

Journey time up to 2hrs, plus an extra hour if you are connecting from Sorrento

Once you arrive in Nocelle, take the 1500 steps down to Positano, or if you are super sweaty, continue for a further 300 steps until you reach the Arienzo Beach for a refreshing dip in the ocean. You can also take a bus from Nocelle down to Positano, where you can reward yourself with a cold drink or take a(nother) bus back to Sorrento or Amalfi depending where you are staying.