AN OLYMPIAN TRAIL

Nestled half way between the divine and human realms lies the Path of Gods. Take in one of the Mediterranean’s most spectacular panoramic views on an exciting mountain ridge hike, high above the Bay of Sirens.

The Path of Gods is an 8-kilometre-long scenic walking trail that runs along the towering cliffs of the Lattari Mountains, linking the tiny hilltop town of Agerola with Nocelle, a district of Positano huddled on the slopes of Monte Pertuso. Once a mule track, the route has certainly existed since ancient Roman times, as it was the only road that connected the towns of the Amalfi Coast before the coastal road was built during the reign of the Bourbons. Throughout history communities that had settled along the shore depended on this inland route for commerce and communication. Today the Path of Gods offers hikers a feel for the difficulties of living in what was once an isolated stretch of land as well as a chance to delve into the region’s mythical past.

According to legend, this trail was indeed forged by divine footsteps. As the Odyssey recounts, Sirens used to inhabit the sea along the Sorrentine and Amalfi coasts bewitching sailors with their charming voices and beckoning them onto the rocks causing shipwrecks and death. Although Ulysses had devised his own ingenious plan to resist the Sirens – by filling his companions’ ears with wax and asking them to tie him to the ship’s mainmast – the gods had also decided to intervene and rescue him. They descended to earth, but misjudged his position, landing in the wrong place. From here they began to run down towards the sea, their steps marking out the very same path hikers use today.

You will meet your private guide and driver at your accommodation and reach Bomerano, a district of Agerola, where your hiking experience begins. The trail will lead you past a dizzying succession of cultivated terraced slopes cut dramatically from the cliffs, ruins of abandoned ancient stone dwellings, fragrant Mediterranean scrub, a carnival of wild flowers and breathtaking views extending all the way to the island of Capri. As you hike along this time-worn route imagine farmers and merchants of old as they travelled along the path, their donkeys pulling carts laden with goods such as wheat, fruits, wine, ceramics and textiles.

The sublime beauty and occasionally the thrilling height undoubtedly make hikers feel closer to the skies. The Path of Gods, with its purportedly divine origins, is above all an extraordinary reminder of the indomitable power of the human will to overcome apparently insurmountable difficulties and tame the most inhospitable and unpromising terrain.