2011 Amalfi Coast Adventures: Hiking the Sentiero degli Dei (“Path of the Gods”)

Today I had to choose between visiting the small town of Scala near Ravello or hike the famous Sentiero degli Dei (“Path of the Gods”).  I haven’t done any real hiking on this trip because I’ve been having some issues with my asthma and to be honest I made the mistake of watching the movie “127 Hours” and I was a tad scared of the thought of hiking alone in a foreign country in the middle of the hills up to 633 meters above sea level. 

But today I felt pretty good and I decided to conquer my fears of hiking alone.  Plus I didn't want to have any regrets on passing up the opportunity to hike this very popular trail. 

The plan was to hike from Bomerano to Nocelle which I read on my Sunflower Landscapes “Sorrento-Amalfi-Capri car tours and walks” book by Julian Tippet. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to do some hiking on the Amalfi Coast.

First, I caught an early Sita bus to Amalfi then on to the town of Bomerano by way of Agerola.   From Bomerano the path starts just to the left of the main church in Piazza Paolo Capazzo.  From here the path goes through Grotta del Biscott, Colle Serra and ends in Nocelle where I took the bus back down to Positano then back to Praiano. 

The path was basically well marked except for a couple of places where I just wasn’t sure.  Luckily there was a hiker to point me in the right direction.

I found this hiking sign with this very cool statue of Mary in this cave like hole in the mountain.  It was as if she was sending her best wishes to all the hikers off to tackle the Path of the Gods trail.  Cool!

I later met a couple of hikers along the way, this one woman was very interesting and she spent a few minutes talking with me (her in Italian and me in English) but somehow it worked.  I asked if I could take her photo and she politely posed.  We bid each other Ciao and went on our merry way.  She was heading in the opposite direction.  In fact all the hikers I passed were going in the opposite direction. 

Now I can understand why this trail is called the “Path of the Gods”.  You almost feel god like standing above this magnificent view. 

Big carin with contributions made by hiker from all over the world. Can you see my rock? :)

I crash into a hiker taking a rest on this rock and I asked which way to Nocelle.  He told me go right up the path. When I reached the fork in the trail I turned back to him and he gestured to go right.

Trail markings

Now, I was in really good spirits at the beginning of the trail but that movie started to mess with my head because there were some really uneven rocky sections.  And to top it all off, I kept hearing rustling in the bushes as I walked along. I think they were the big lizards I kept seeing but I had visions of a rattle snake popping out from the bushes and attacking me. 

Finally I can see Nocelle and just like in a marathon race you think you’re close but then you’re not.  I finally get to this section and it went down under these enormous trees with leaves on the ground. It was dark, it was scary, I was alone and I was wishing my good hiking buddies were with me right about now.  Since that last hiker at the fork on the trail, I have not seen one person on the path and it was really making feel very uncomfortable. 

I heard another rustling sound and when I looked up I saw the face of this dog!  I got startled but I also think I startled him. J

I decided to buckle down and head down that dark and creepy path.  I look up and I could see my little friend!  Can you believe that he was actually waiting for me! 

My hiking buddy

My little hiking partner would walk ahead then stop and wait for me to catch up.  He actually escorted me all the way  to Nocelle which I thought was so cool.  But more importantly he kept me company when I really needed it.  I would talk to him along the way and I tried to keep up with his pace (he was a fast hiker). 

Finally the path evens out and there are hand railings for the rest of the way. Once we got to the town, my little friend turned towards me. He was a little shy and didn’t come close to me. I said Grazie and Ciao and then he disappeared back down the trail again. It was like he brought me right to the town and once he knew I got here, he was okay to leave me. 

I taped a short video to feature my little friend and his unselfish act of kindness to a hiker who really needed it. 

Thank you so much my little friend where ever you are!