from Bomerano (Agerola) to Nocelle (Positano)
Durante: 5,3 km
Travel time: 6h 30 ‘
Route – Quite long walk with little altitude difference. No particular difficulties.
Approach – Departure from Bomerano, a hamlet of Agerola. Reachable from the junction of the SS Amalfi Coast near Amalfi or from Castellammare.
Logistics – The most convenient solution is the return path that retraces the outward path with the partial variant indicated in the text. Alternatively, bus from Monte Pertuso to Positano, from Positano to Amalfi and from Amalfi to Bomerano.
Refreshment points – Bars and restaurants in Bomerano. A trattoria in Nocelle.
Souvenirs and purchases – In Bomerano dairy products and cured meats from the Agerola valley.
The best known of all the paths of the Amalfi Coast is certainly the “Path of the Gods”, mentioned in every guidebook and suggested by every newspaper that deals with tourism. Unforgettable the views it offers. The Path of the Gods is only one: some indications that speak of “superior” and “inferior” confuse with the Alta Via dei Lattari or with simple variations.
Going along it, there and back, takes about six hours, rewarded by an immersion in the Mediterranean scrub and by the sight of stupendous views at every step. It starts from the small square of Bomerano where some signs (looking at the church, on the left) mark the beginning in via Pennino. The road soon turns into a path that descends towards the valley floor. After passing under the bridge of a road, proceed to the end of the steps where you take the detour that goes up to the right and leads to a road, to be followed to the left. After about half a kilometer, a mule track begins which passes ancient shelters for shepherds (immediately below on the left) and the ruins of a house boldly built on a rock tower (a little further on to the left). Through terraces and along steep slopes, in less than an hour you reach the crossroads of Colle La Serra.
Here you proceed to the right, slightly uphill, along a path above the alternative path, to be followed on the way back. Orientation from here on is easy: the red CAl markings guide you for the next two hours to the town of Nocelle. At the end of the path, after a descending staircase, there is the comfort of a fountain in a cave with the Madonnina. For the hungry hiker a little further on there is a restaurant.
On the way back you can diversify the route by taking a variant that passes under an overhanging rock face, easily recognizable. The junction is not very obvious but you can orient yourself bearing in mind that you have to keep to the right when you come out of the thickest vegetation. The rock face is no more than two to three hundred meters away. Go around the wall, pass an old abandoned house and continue up to a flight of steps that climbs to the left. Going straight on, in less than an hour you would arrive in Praiano (as for the previous walk). To return to Bomerano, go up the ladder, and at its end turn left, and then turn right at the crossroads already covered on the outward journey.
