Hiking Positano

Based in a Sorrento youth hostel, we took the first SITA bus to leave from Sorrento for direction Positano. It left the Circumvesuviana station at 6:25 AM.

After passing Positano, we passed Vetica Maggiore, and immediately after a short tunnel, the town of Praiano. Without knowing anything precise of exactly where to stop, and using only my Kompass map as guidance, I asked the driver to stop at the next stop. It was then 7:40 AM.

Then, we asked around on how to get to Praiano Alta, the upper parts of the town. Locals directed us to a set of steps that got us to gain 200 meters of altitude, and got us next to the town church, more homes in the upper parts of the mountain, and finally the trail head to Colle della Sella

The trail was steep and got us on the ridge separating the gulf of Positano from the gulf of Amalfi. Gorgeous sunny day, the temperature was just right. We are only carrying a small day-pack, with a bottle of water, some extra clothes (just in case if up in the mountains it was going to get colder), and fresh mozzarella di bufala and bread for food.

We reached Colle della Sella slightly past 8:30 AM. From there, we did a round-trip short hike along the Sentiero Degli Dei to Bomerano and back. Then, back at Colle della Sella, we chose to follow the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) red-and-white trail blazes that took us to what is known as "sentiero alto" of the Sentiero degli Dei. For trail description, I used the information from the Giovanni Visetti website.

After a couple of hours of hiking, we found the perfect spot for lunch and breaked. We eventually reached the group of homes of Nocelle, and asked some locals for the trail that would take us to S. Maria del Castello, and passing by Caserma Forestale. We gained another 200 meters of altitute, walking by a magnificent grove of cypress trees, and connected with the "00" trail of Alta Via dei Monti Lattari. At a nearby stream and waterfall, I skinny-dipped and took a partial bath (water was cooooold).

From the edge of S. Maria del Castello, we looked down, and there it was, our final destination, the beaches of Positano. From an altitude of 750 meters, we descented to sea level, using steps, switchbacking trails, bridges. We rested and relaxed, smelled the sea breeze, mingled with conventional tourists, and then took a 6:30 PM bus back to Sorrento.

For maps, we had a Kompass Karten Penisola Sorrentina map that costed 7 Euro. It is not a good map for hiking because its scale, 1:50000, is too big for precision hiking. Also, it displayed trails that were either non-existent, or its blazes were old and covered by vegetation, and trails that were clearly marked but then suddenly non-transitable. A better choice for general hiking navigation would have been the Monti Lattari map published by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI), 12 Euro, but while its scale, 1:30000, is adequate for hiking, it is based on a photo survey of 1953, and it only displays the trails managed by the CAI volunteers. Amazingly, there only hiking guide ever written for this area is in english, written, I presume, by a briton what shared his love of walking. These british... lets tip our hats to them, 'cause, without 'em, there would be no hiking guidebook