arzewski@hotmail.com
20-03-2007, 03:59 PM
posting this to share my recent experiences for future hikers planning
hiking trips in the Sorrentine Peninsula (Penisola Sorrentina),
Positano, Amalfi coast, an area whose hiking experience is somewhat
compared with the one experienced when walking the Cinque Terre in the
Liguria region.
Sorrento is a good base for hiking trips. A hostel is located near
the train station (Ostello Le Sirene, Via degli Aranci): one of us
paid 16 euros to sleep in a dormitory (10 places to sleep on five bunk
beds, sharing a bathroom with a broken door), and a couple chose a
private room with a double bed and a bathroom (26 euros each). The
hostel also offers storage of bags in case if you check out in the
morning but want to hike and travel light for the day before catching
a train later. Sorrento is a good base camp for many reasons: after
hiking all day, you'll want to relax and check out the scene. There
are many gelato shops, bookstores, toy stores, supermarkets. The
crowd was mostly americans, including entire groups from midwestern
colleges. Apparently there is a word of mounth, and lots of young
people from the US are congregating there.
Sorrento is easily connected via mass transit to Naples via the
excellent commuter rail Circumvesuviana. The same rail can be used to
reach Scavi di Pompei, just off the entrance to the roman city
archeological site.
Sorrento has ferries to Capri. There is a slow ferry (8 euros) and a
faster ferry (14 euros), with difference only of 15 minutes. Take the
slower one, and enjoy the sea breeze.
>From Sorrento there are excellent public transit buses that connect to
Positano, Amalfi, and almost any town on the Peninsula. We took a bus
to Positano from Sorrento (the earliest, at 6:25 AM) and it costed us
1.80 Euros. The frequency is almost every hour during rush hour and
every two hours otherwise.
For hiking, we chose to do the Sentiero degli Dei , Pathway of the
Gods, that connects Bomerano with Nocelle, a suburb of Positano.
Using the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi, we got off at Praiano, climbed
hundreds of city steps to reach Praiano Alta (the higher streets and
homes), and then, asking around, found the trailhead to Colle della
Sella (600 meters above sea level). On that saddle point, we then
walked to Bomerano and back. Then, to continue to Nocelle, we had two
choices: either take the lower or upper path of the Sentiero degli
Dei. We chose the upper trail, which is blazed with red and white
paint, the typical colors of trails maintained by CAI (Club Alpino
Italiano) volunteers. In this case, the volunteers are from the Cava
de' Tirreni CAI group (www.caicava.it). The scenery is spectacular,
rock formations and cliffs majestic. Arrived at Nocelle, the options
are to descend towards Positano or continue and stay at same
altitude. We eventually found a trail that climbed a bit to connect
to the Forestale area and the trail Alta Via dei Monti Lattary ("00"),
and then eventually reached S. Maria del Castello. There is an
excellent restaurant, Zi Peppe, at that location. From the rim
overlooking the sea, at 750 meters above sea level, there is a steep
trail that descends on numerous switchbacks all the way to Positano.
On another hike, we took a bus from Sorrento to Termini (destination
of bus is Nerano) and hiked to Punta Campanella, the tip of the
Peninsula on a blazed trail by volunteers at www.giovis.it . The
square of Termini also has a large metal board with trails detailed on
it. From Punta Campanella, we then walked on the "00" trail, red and
white blazes, to Nerano, and eventually to Marina del Cantone. On the
way, we did a short detour to explore the bay of Jelanto, following
yellow trail blazes. From Marina del Cantone, we continued on the
"00" trail to Recommone. From there, the trail almost disappears,
with blazes missing or incorrect, and vegetation pretty much
recovering the landscape. Only hikers with superb sense of
orienteering should consider this section. Eventually this trail
merges with the "1" blue blazes trail. We did a detour to Marina di
Crapolla, where the orangy vertical cliffs below and small waterfall
reminded of Zion Nationa Park. From Torca and then S. Agata, Sorrento
is reachable with a 3 mile walk.
To summarize:
the best source of information is the website www.giovis.it ,
maintained by local guide and cartographer Giovanni Visetti. It has
many trails listed, detailed maps, and trail conditions and trail
status. It relies on hikers information, so it is always up do date.
There is a printed map by the cartography publishing house Kompass
(Penisola Sorrentina), scale 1:50000, 7 euros, but it's scale is of
limited use for precision hiking. Also, the paper is kind of weak,
and it tore at the seams quickly. But it is beautiful in color, and
it looks great on my wall. There are factual errors on the trails
marked, as it includes trails that are not transitable anymore, and
one trail labeled "Bassa Via dei Monti Lattari" just west of Positano
that in reality it is just a trace and it is not blazed.
There is a more detailed map published by the CAI, "Monti Lattari", 12
euros, blue cover. The scale is 1:30000, but it is black and white
with trails marked in red. The photosurvey on which the map is based
on is from fifty years ago, with a few updates on new roads, so it may
not be up-to-date as the Kompass map. While the CAI trails are
excellently marked on it, the problem is that it ONLY has the CAI
trails and not all others (for example, the excellent trails created
by Giovanni Visetti on the western portion of the Sorrentine
Peninsula).
There is a third map, scale 1:5000, called "Sentieri di
Positano" (trans: "Trails of Positano") apparently available at
newsstands in Positano, but was not able to find it.
hiking trips in the Sorrentine Peninsula (Penisola Sorrentina),
Positano, Amalfi coast, an area whose hiking experience is somewhat
compared with the one experienced when walking the Cinque Terre in the
Liguria region.
Sorrento is a good base for hiking trips. A hostel is located near
the train station (Ostello Le Sirene, Via degli Aranci): one of us
paid 16 euros to sleep in a dormitory (10 places to sleep on five bunk
beds, sharing a bathroom with a broken door), and a couple chose a
private room with a double bed and a bathroom (26 euros each). The
hostel also offers storage of bags in case if you check out in the
morning but want to hike and travel light for the day before catching
a train later. Sorrento is a good base camp for many reasons: after
hiking all day, you'll want to relax and check out the scene. There
are many gelato shops, bookstores, toy stores, supermarkets. The
crowd was mostly americans, including entire groups from midwestern
colleges. Apparently there is a word of mounth, and lots of young
people from the US are congregating there.
Sorrento is easily connected via mass transit to Naples via the
excellent commuter rail Circumvesuviana. The same rail can be used to
reach Scavi di Pompei, just off the entrance to the roman city
archeological site.
Sorrento has ferries to Capri. There is a slow ferry (8 euros) and a
faster ferry (14 euros), with difference only of 15 minutes. Take the
slower one, and enjoy the sea breeze.
>From Sorrento there are excellent public transit buses that connect to
Positano, Amalfi, and almost any town on the Peninsula. We took a bus
to Positano from Sorrento (the earliest, at 6:25 AM) and it costed us
1.80 Euros. The frequency is almost every hour during rush hour and
every two hours otherwise.
For hiking, we chose to do the Sentiero degli Dei , Pathway of the
Gods, that connects Bomerano with Nocelle, a suburb of Positano.
Using the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi, we got off at Praiano, climbed
hundreds of city steps to reach Praiano Alta (the higher streets and
homes), and then, asking around, found the trailhead to Colle della
Sella (600 meters above sea level). On that saddle point, we then
walked to Bomerano and back. Then, to continue to Nocelle, we had two
choices: either take the lower or upper path of the Sentiero degli
Dei. We chose the upper trail, which is blazed with red and white
paint, the typical colors of trails maintained by CAI (Club Alpino
Italiano) volunteers. In this case, the volunteers are from the Cava
de' Tirreni CAI group (www.caicava.it). The scenery is spectacular,
rock formations and cliffs majestic. Arrived at Nocelle, the options
are to descend towards Positano or continue and stay at same
altitude. We eventually found a trail that climbed a bit to connect
to the Forestale area and the trail Alta Via dei Monti Lattary ("00"),
and then eventually reached S. Maria del Castello. There is an
excellent restaurant, Zi Peppe, at that location. From the rim
overlooking the sea, at 750 meters above sea level, there is a steep
trail that descends on numerous switchbacks all the way to Positano.
On another hike, we took a bus from Sorrento to Termini (destination
of bus is Nerano) and hiked to Punta Campanella, the tip of the
Peninsula on a blazed trail by volunteers at www.giovis.it . The
square of Termini also has a large metal board with trails detailed on
it. From Punta Campanella, we then walked on the "00" trail, red and
white blazes, to Nerano, and eventually to Marina del Cantone. On the
way, we did a short detour to explore the bay of Jelanto, following
yellow trail blazes. From Marina del Cantone, we continued on the
"00" trail to Recommone. From there, the trail almost disappears,
with blazes missing or incorrect, and vegetation pretty much
recovering the landscape. Only hikers with superb sense of
orienteering should consider this section. Eventually this trail
merges with the "1" blue blazes trail. We did a detour to Marina di
Crapolla, where the orangy vertical cliffs below and small waterfall
reminded of Zion Nationa Park. From Torca and then S. Agata, Sorrento
is reachable with a 3 mile walk.
To summarize:
the best source of information is the website www.giovis.it ,
maintained by local guide and cartographer Giovanni Visetti. It has
many trails listed, detailed maps, and trail conditions and trail
status. It relies on hikers information, so it is always up do date.
There is a printed map by the cartography publishing house Kompass
(Penisola Sorrentina), scale 1:50000, 7 euros, but it's scale is of
limited use for precision hiking. Also, the paper is kind of weak,
and it tore at the seams quickly. But it is beautiful in color, and
it looks great on my wall. There are factual errors on the trails
marked, as it includes trails that are not transitable anymore, and
one trail labeled "Bassa Via dei Monti Lattari" just west of Positano
that in reality it is just a trace and it is not blazed.
There is a more detailed map published by the CAI, "Monti Lattari", 12
euros, blue cover. The scale is 1:30000, but it is black and white
with trails marked in red. The photosurvey on which the map is based
on is from fifty years ago, with a few updates on new roads, so it may
not be up-to-date as the Kompass map. While the CAI trails are
excellently marked on it, the problem is that it ONLY has the CAI
trails and not all others (for example, the excellent trails created
by Giovanni Visetti on the western portion of the Sorrentine
Peninsula).
There is a third map, scale 1:5000, called "Sentieri di
Positano" (trans: "Trails of Positano") apparently available at
newsstands in Positano, but was not able to find it.