40.63° N · 14.54° E · Amalfi Coast
The Path of the Gods runs halfway up the slopes of the Lattari mountains, from Bomerano, in Agerola, to Nocelle, above Positano. It is almost all downhill, with the sea and Capri ahead, and about 7.8 km that take around four hours with stops. From Nocelle, half an hour of stairs brings you down to Positano.
Part of Amalfi Coast
Step by step
By bus from Amalfi to Agerola, Bomerano stop. The path starts in the village square and is signposted with the route's name and the white and red CAI marks.
A stone path between terraces and scrub, with the Praiano coast below. There is a high variant, which is tougher; the classic one is the low one, which is more open to the sea.
The most famous stretch, with Positano and the island of Capri ahead. It ends at the hamlet of Nocelle, where there is a small square and the stop for Positano's internal bus.
Hundreds of steps go down from Nocelle to the Positano road. If you do not want to walk them, the local Mobility Amalfi Coast bus links Nocelle and Montepertuso with the centre of Positano.
From Positano, SITA buses leave for Amalfi and Sorrento and, in season, boats to Amalfi.
The Sentiero degli Dei is a mule track that linked the high hamlets of the coast before the road existed. Today it is the best-known walk on the Amalfi Coast because, without climbing any peak, it keeps you for hours at 500 or 600 metres above the sea, with Praiano, Positano and Capri in front of you.
It is walked from east to west, from Bomerano to Nocelle, so that it is downhill and with the sun at your back in the morning. It has no difficult passages, but it does have loose stone, steps and stretches without shade.
It suits anyone with some walking habit: it is about four hours with stops, and the end, the descent from Nocelle to Positano, is hard on the knees. No technical gear or mountain experience is needed.
It is not for you if you have a strong fear of heights (some stretches run alongside a drop, although the path is wide), if you are with a pushchair or if you have delicate knees and plan to walk all the way down to Positano. Nor does it make sense on a day of low cloud: what you come for is the landscape.
The practical way is by bus, because the route is linear and ends far from where it starts. From Amalfi the SITA SUD bus goes up to Agerola; get off at the Bomerano stop. From Positano or Sorrento, first go down to Amalfi and change there.
You buy the ticket before boarding, at tobacconists and bars that sell them, and validate it on board. If you are going to take three or four buses in the day, the COSTIERASITA pays for itself: 24 hours of unlimited travel for €10, valid in Amalfi, Agerola and Positano.
By car you can park in Agerola, but then you have to get back from Positano to the car, with two buses and a lot of traffic in summer. If you are staying on the coast, leave the car behind.
Spring, from March to June, and autumn, in September and October, are the best seasons: mild temperatures, clear light and fewer people. In July and August the path can be done, but leave on the first bus, bring plenty of water and expect nowhere to hide from the sun at midday. In winter it is a good walk if the day is clear; in rain the stone is slippery and it is better left for another day.
To avoid the crowds, start before nine. Organised groups usually reach Bomerano mid-morning and go in the same direction, so anyone who sets off early walks alone.
The path is free. The expense is the transport: with the €10 COSTIERASITA you cover the climb to Agerola, the Nocelle bus if you use it and the return from Positano. If you prefer not to organise it yourself, there are local guides and agencies that do it with transfer included, but you do not need a guide to follow it.
In rain or thick fog, change plan: the path loses its reason for being and the stone becomes slippery. Stay in Amalfi and visit the town and its cathedral, or go up to Ravello by bus, where the villa gardens look good even under a cloudy sky.
Who it's for
What to bring
Map
What you have around the starting point.
More to do
Tips
From ten o'clock it fills with groups and in summer the sun beats down.
From Bomerano to Nocelle is almost all downhill. The other way round, the climb is long.
The descent from Nocelle to Positano is steep stairs. If you arrive tired, take the internal bus.
In small villages there is not always somewhere to buy one, and they are not sold on board.
If there are clouds clinging to the mountain, you will not see the coast. Wait for a clear day.
Questions
About four hours from Bomerano to Nocelle, plus half an hour of stairs to Positano.
Medium difficulty: almost all downhill, but with loose stone and steps.
No. Only the bus to get to Agerola and to come back.
With children used to walking, from about age 10. It is not suitable for a pushchair.
No. It is signposted and very well trodden. A guide adds the history of the path and the transfer, not safety.
You can, but you start by climbing the stairs from Positano to Nocelle and then go uphill for almost the whole path.
On Positano's local bus, which stops at Nocelle and Montepertuso and drops you in the centre.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/campania/amalfi-coast/things-to-do/path-of-the-gods
