Few people vacationing on the Amalfi Coast know this route. Everyone associates the Amalfi Coast with mountains, beaches, charming towns, and breathtaking landscapes. And the presence of such hiking trails only underscores how multifaceted Italy truly is. I rarely write posts like this, but today I want to take you along the same paths we walked.
Honestly, it's still a mystery to me how we found these waterfalls. Towards the end of our vacation, the sky was overcast, we'd seen a lot, and while aimlessly browsing the internet for other places to go, I stumbled upon these waterfalls. The route started in Amalfi, and the description said it would take five hours to walk—the prospect of five hours of climbing and descending mountains just to see waterfalls didn't appeal to me. Especially since we had a car. We looked at the map—Reserva Statale Valle della Ferriere is a large park, and practically everything in the mountains is parkland. We asked the girl at reception how to get there by car, but she looked at us in surprise and exclaimed that it was only on foot. But we weren't giving up and found that we could walk from the town of Pontone. We asked the girl again for advice, and she confirmed that it was possible, but definitely not by car. Women on the road are, of course, not respected here, but after a week of driving on southern Italian roads, that didn't scare us. And the most challenging switchbacks, too. Anyway, the route starts somewhere up there in the mountains among those little houses.
You know, it's weird, you're driving along, not knowing what to do next, where to go, so what? Luckily, the country is civilized and touristy. Upon entering Pontone, we saw an arrow on the wall with the words "Valle della Ferriere" written on it, and followed the signs.
I imagined arriving somewhere at the park entrance and continuing on, but this road was unusual, passing through villages, lemon groves, and someone's vegetable gardens. Steps went up and down, and somewhere in the distance you could hear the rush of water.
We kept walking and walking along these paths. It often felt like we'd lost our way, wondering how long we could possibly walk along these narrow streets. But seeing the signs always reassured us that we were on the right path. And yet, we realized that it really wasn't possible to drive a car; it felt as if the entire village consisted of a single narrow street along the edge of a mountainside.
If you lower your head, you can see mainly vineyards and the sea.
The route is very unusual and interesting. Here, for example, I liked how flowers grow in the crevices of the rock, or how the road passes under an arch—old walls, doors—am I really in the Middle Ages?! No, this is just the Italian countryside, and people live here just like in other cities.
Along the way, there were numerous lemon orchards, and these lemon trees exuded such an incredible aroma, combined with the fresh mountain air—it was simply breathtaking. In fact, the lemon trees are described as the calling card of this route.
You know, I thought this flower was artificial and stuck in the ground, but it turns out it's real. I don't know what it is; it looks like a lily, but I know it's not. It really is very beautiful.
You walk along, there’s not a soul around, just us, it seems like no one ever comes here, but then you come across such a composition for prayer, and even with fresh flowers, and you realize how wrong you are.
And if you look to the left, you'll see Amalfi, squeezed between the mountains. I never tire of admiring Amalfi—my favorite city in the Amalfi Islands.
We continued walking, looking around, and in some places it started to rain, but we realized that we had gone far enough and it would be stupid to turn back.
We hear the sound of water, look into the distance at the mountains ahead of us, and wonder if there's a waterfall there? No, it's so far away; we have to walk so far! And finally, when we finally got there, we saw that we were right there in the distance...
Fortunately, parts of the trail were well-maintained, making it a pleasure to walk.
But this stretch of the path ended and a forested section began. Here we seemed to descend into the forest.
And the road is no longer so flat and easy.
The sign points to Amalfi, meaning it takes an hour to get from Amalfi to this point, and it's downhill, but we walked for half an hour, and on an almost level road.
Another look at the mountains. We're heading there—deep in. How beautiful they are!
Unimaginable beauty!
And I was captivated by the forest! It's the end of September, and the trees are bright green and lush!
The forest itself is magical—the silence is so profound that you can clearly hear every rustling leaf, the thump of woodpeckers, and the wind. Sometimes it feels like you can hear your heartbeat. And the air—what air there is! Clean, fresh, and so rich that sometimes it's hard to breathe!
In this place the sound of water could be clearly heard, somewhere very close, well, very close.
We climbed down, expecting to see a huge waterfall, but instead, we saw a tiny one. Notice the color of the water! Absolutely no Photoshop! It looks fake, as if someone had tinted it with a bluish tint.
And what lush green grass! We spent about 15 minutes here, simply enjoying the three elements—air, water, and earth. You feel a powerful connection with nature.
Source: travel.ru
