The Path of the Gods from Ravello
From Bomerano to Nocelle, high on the mountainside with Positano at your feet. How we get there from Ravello without a car, and how we get home for dinner.
The Path of the Gods doesn't start in Ravello: it begins in Bomerano, a village of Agerola, and ends in Nocelle, above Positano. From our house, though, it's an easy day trip to organise without a car, and it's the one I recommend to anyone with good legs and a free day. The trail runs mostly level or downhill along the mountainside, with the whole coast below you, all the way to Capri.
Here's how we do it: the two buses to Bomerano, the trail section by section, the walk down to Positano and the trip back to Ravello. If you'd rather start with something gentler on your first day, begin with our guide to things to do in Ravello.
- Length
- about 8 km from Bomerano to Nocelle
- Time
- 3–4 hours with stops, plus the descent to Positano
- Difficulty
- moderate hike: nothing technical, but some exposed stretches
- From Ravello
- two buses, changing in Amalfi
From Ravello to Bomerano by bus
Start early. We take the first SITA bus from Ravello down to Amalfi, about twenty-five minutes of bends to Piazza Flavio Gioia by the harbour. From there the bus to Agerola climbs for roughly forty minutes of hairpins above the sea; get off at Bomerano, in the village square, Piazza Paolo Capasso. Allow an hour and a half in all, waiting included.
Buy tickets before you board, at a tobacconist or a bar, and get your return tickets at the same time. Timetables change between summer and winter, so check them the evening before on the SITA Sud website. If you have a car you can park in Bomerano, but then you have to go back for it, and from Positano that's quite a trip: that's why we leave ours in Ravello. All the connections to the house are on our How to reach us page.
Bomerano to Nocelle, section by section
From the square in Bomerano, follow the brown Path of the Gods signs and the red-and-white CAI waymarks. At first you walk between houses and vegetable plots, then the walls run out and the view opens up: rock faces above you, the sea below, and Positano far ahead, still tiny.
Along the way you pass the ruins of old shepherds' huts, and often a mule or two: up here loads are still carried this way, and on some of the steps you'll see why. The name comes from a legend about the gods passing this way to rescue Ulysses from the Sirens of Li Galli, the little islands you'll have in front of you all morning.
Photo: Wolfgang Moroder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Colle Serra and the turn-off for Praiano
At Colle Serra the trail splits and the signs mark an upper and a lower route: follow the ones for Nocelle and, if in doubt, ask other walkers. A long stairway also drops from here to Praiano, the way out to remember if someone is tired or the weather turns. There's a stretch of loose scree around here, so take it slowly and watch your footing.
The last stretch to Nocelle
After Colle Serra the path follows the mountainside through scrub and broom, with a few passages over bare rock, and Positano gets closer at every bend. Some spots are narrow with no railing: if you suffer from vertigo, know that before you set off. There is no water along the trail and very little shade. You arrive in Nocelle, a cluster of houses perched above Positano, where a kiosk sells drinks: your first proper sit-down of the day.
From Nocelle down to Positano, then home
From Nocelle to Positano you go down a stairway of more than 1,500 steps: a good half hour that your knees will remind you of the next day. If you're tired, take the small local bus down into town. We always walk it, because you enter Positano from above, through gardens and terraces, and it's the loveliest way to see it.
To get back to Ravello, take the SITA bus from Positano to Amalfi or, in the warmer months, the ferry: after a day up high, seeing the coast from the water is something else. In Amalfi you change for the bus to Ravello. For the next day, when your legs need a rest, there's our guide to the beaches near Ravello.
Photo: Wolfgang Moroder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
When to go and what to bring
Spring and autumn are best: April and May with the broom in flower, September and October with clear air and fewer people. You can do it in summer, but set off at dawn: after eleven, on the sunny side of the mountain, it gets properly hot. In winter the trail is often beautiful and empty, but after rain the rock turns slippery and some sections may be closed because of landslides.
In your backpack: at least a litre and a half of water each, two in summer, a hat, sunscreen and something to eat. On your feet, hiking shoes or at least trainers with a decent grip; leave the sandals at home. If it rained hard the day before, ask us: it's often better to wait a day and enjoy Ravello at a slower pace in the meantime.
Four tips from someone who lives here
- Walk it from Bomerano to Nocelle, never the other way round: in this direction you go downhill, in the other you climb all morning.
- Catch the first bus from Ravello: you'll reach Bomerano before the tour groups and walk while it's still cool.
- Buy your bus tickets for the whole day in Ravello: there are no tobacconists on the trail or in Nocelle.
- Keep the next day easy: a morning at Villa Cimbrone, ten minutes' walk from the house, and an afternoon on the balcony are just the reward.
Path of the Gods: questions our guests ask
How long is the Path of the Gods and how long does it take?
From Bomerano to Nocelle it's about 8 km, which takes 3–4 hours at an easy pace with stops. If you walk down to Positano, add a good half hour of steps.
Is the Path of the Gods difficult?
It isn't technical and, walking from Bomerano to Nocelle, it's mostly level or downhill. You do need proper shoes and some fitness, and there are narrow, exposed stretches: it isn't suitable for people who suffer from vertigo.
How do you get to the Path of the Gods from Ravello?
Take the SITA bus from Ravello to Amalfi, then the bus to Agerola, getting off at Bomerano: about an hour and a half in total. Buy tickets before boarding, at a tobacconist or a bar.
Do you have to pay to walk the Path of the Gods?
No, the trail is open and free. You only pay for the buses or the ferry to get there and back.
When is the best time to hike it?
Spring and autumn. In summer, set off at dawn to avoid the heat; in winter, check the weather, because the rock is slippery after rain and some sections may be closed.
In the evening, a balcony over the sea
Our holiday apartment is in the centre of Ravello, a short walk from the bus stop: catch the first bus in the morning, come back in the evening, shower, and sit on the balcony looking at the sea with tired legs.
Photo: Rudolfo Kithera, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.