Il Sentiero degli Dei. The Path of Gods, is this little trail of death connecting mountainous towns from Praiano to Positano. It has jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring views of the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri. During our trip to the Coast, we stayed in Sorrento, a slight distance from the tourist hubbub of Amalfi and Positano. The Path of Gods begins both in Praiano or Bomerano, depending on your hiking desires. If you start in Praiano, you will hike up a very long set of stairs.
I knew our day was destined to be adventurous the second we stepped on a local bus going from Sorrento to Praiano. Italian roads are narrow. On the coast, not only are these roads narrow, but they are winding. And not only that, but you have a steep cliff drop on one side and an unsteady rocky cliff on the other. To say this bus ride was nauseating and anxiety inducing is the understatement of the century.
Once we hopped off the bus (and vowed to never hop back on it ever again), we were on our way to the Path of Gods. I made the mistake of trusting my parents and not doing my thorough research prior to this hike. I was not prepared in any sense of the word. Adventure number two started the second I saw the flight of stairs I was asked to climb. I stopped halfway up to take this picture (and give my thighs a breather). We finally reached the landing pad and top of the mountain where the Path of Gods trail seemed to flatten.
Once you arrive at this point, the Path of Gods is very beautiful with sweeping views of the coast. I am all about “earning my views”! It was hard to not fill my memory card with millions of pictures.
Adventure number 3 was “ now, how do I get down from here”. After many, many hours of hiking had passed, we began to see sights of Positano. It was glorious.
We thought that the Path of Gods ended in Positano, but someone (MOM) did not read the fine print. It’s actually quite easy to miss Positano. And then you end up in Nocelle, slightly above Positano. From Nocelle, descend a mere 1500 steps to Arienzo beach and then stroll over to Positano.
We successfully made it to Arienzo beach, but could not figure out how to get to Positano by walking. We finally swallowed our pride to ask the locals. They gave us tickets for the next boat to Positano. We proceed to get on a dingy and made our way to what I hoped would be our final destination.
Adventures and mishaps aside, the day we hiked the Path of Gods will forever remain as one of my favorite (and most hilarious) days. It’s hard to stand atop a mountain and not have a posture of reflection. My biggest learning lesson from the day: you are missing out if you only look at things from a ground-level perspective. Take a step back. Look at the bigger picture and marvel at it.
