Sentiero degli Dei

About Sentiero degli Dei

Local lore claim the path was literally pounded into existence by the feet of deities, but the archaeological reality points to a sophisticated network of transhumance routes. These trails allowed the Republic of Amalfi to flourish during the Middle Ages, providing interior access for timber and agricultural products that fueled their maritime power. In the 1970s, as the coast became a global tourism magnet, the path was rediscovered by walkers who sought the rugged authenticity of the Lattari range. It was eventually renamed and mapped as a premier trekking destination, yet it retains the soul of a working agricultural landscape where donkeys still carry heavy loads of lemons up the steep inclines.

High above the turquoise shimmer of the Tyrrhenian Sea, a limestone thread snakes through the Lattari Mountains, connecting the mountain hamlet of Bomerano to the vertical village of Nocelle. The Path of the Gods offers a perspective of the Amalfi Coast that feels entirely detached from the glamorous, lemon-scented chaos of the coastal road below. Here, the air is sharp with wild thyme and the faint, musky scent of goats that still graze on the dizzying terraces. You walk past crumbling stone farmhouses and deep limestone caverns that seem to exhale a prehistoric coolness even in the height of August. The horizon is a blur of cobalt blue where the water meets the sky, occasionally broken by the distant, jagged silhouette of Capri’s Faraglioni rocks.

Greek mythology suggests this was the route taken by the gods to save Ulysses from the Sirens who sang from the Li Galli islands just offshore. For centuries, however, the path served a much more pragmatic purpose as the only overland link for local shepherds and farmers moving goods between isolated mountain communities. These mule tracks remained the lifeline of the peninsula until the mid-19th century when the modern coastal road was finally carved into the cliffs. The dry-stone walls you see lining the route were built by hand over generations, using techniques that have remained virtually unchanged since the Roman era. Today, it remains a protected park, preserved from the encroaching villas that dominate the lower slopes of the Amalfi coast.

Starting from the trailhead in Bomerano, you feel the immediate transition into a world of vertical silence. You notice the way the light catches the silver-grey olive groves and the brilliant yellow of the gorse bushes clinging to the precipice. The soundscape is dominated by the rhythmic clinking of goat bells and the distant, muffled roar of the sea far below your boots. You feel the grit of the white limestone path and notice the sheer drop-offs that make your pulse quicken as the trail narrows. Reaching the halfway point at the Convent of San Domenico, you see the coastline unfurl like a ribbon of pastel houses and terraced vineyards. The final descent into Nocelle brings a sense of accomplishment as the smell of wood-fired ovens begins to rise from the village kitchens.

Most travelers arrive via the SITA bus from Amalfi town to Agerola, getting off at the Bomerano stop where the trail is clearly marked. Walking from Bomerano toward Positano is the preferred direction, as it keeps the most dramatic views directly in your field of vision and involves more downhill sections. The journey takes approximately three to four hours at a leisurely pace. Once you reach Nocelle, you can either descend the fifteen hundred stone steps to the coastal road or catch a local shuttle bus that winds down to the center of Positano. Arriving at the trailhead at sunrise is the only way to beat the heavy midday heat and the groups of hikers who arrive on the mid-morning buses.