Our final full day on the Amalfi Coast we decided to go big and hike the Path of the Gods. We weren't sure when we got to the Amalfi if we would want to do this hike, but everyone we ran into said it was so worth it, and since we have no idea when we'll be back, we decided to go for it.
We woke up extra early for this hike and after a delicious breakfast started making our way into the main area of Praiano.
Early morning traffic jam.
The full Path of the Gods runs along the top of the Amalfi coast from Agerola to Positano and there are several ways to actually get to it, but one of the main {and hardest} lucky for us started in Praiano.
And did I mention it involves over 2000 stairs??
This hike is not for those afraid of heights!
We started hiking up.....
.....past stray kitties and lots of homes.
We often felt like we weren't sure which way to go {it's not super well marked} but we always found our way back to the path.
Luckily there were a few benches along the way for rest breaks.
But the stairs felt neverending.
The views were pretty though!
And for the most part, the beginning of the hike was pretty shaded {though it was insanely humid that day and there was no way of not sweating through everything we were wearing}.
It was so peaceful, and on the way up we ran into exactly 1 person {who spoke no English}.
Interesting sights along the way.
I can't imagine living up in this area, but we did find several homes tucked away in the hills.
We made it to Convento di San Domenico, which I had assumed would be where we would start to level off on our way to Positano.
The views here were beautiful.....
....but we quickly realized we had quite a long way to go straight up to actually get to the path.
At this point I was pretty sure I was about to fall to my death, so I had to actually sit down to take this photo of Christian as I had started getting a little dizzy from the height and heat!
We were right on the edge of the cliffs.....
....so I kept my eyes right in front of me and kept going.
Like, how is this even a path?
I was pretty sure we had definitely taken a wrong turn, as this did NOT seem like the path an older couple had told us they did the day before {in retrospect, I don't think they actually did the hike up to the Path}.
But finally at the top, the views were spectacular.
At this point, we were dying of heat but ready to start heading in a horizontal direction finally.
I couldn't believe we were this high up!
Sweaty and relieved.
Finally some warning signs.
Proud that we had started waaaaaayyyyy down where those buildings were!
We kept walking, this time running into a few more people.
It's hard to tell how big everything is up there.....
....so here's Christian for scale :)
The views were absolutely breathtaking.....
.....and I loved that the signage was in hours to get somewhere, not kilometers.
After taking in all the views....
....the Path meandered through the trees, which was a welcome respite from the oppressive sun.
We ran into this slight detour for fresh lemonade and knew we had to try it out.
This place was so serene and peaceful, and we got to chatting with the guy who ran it who brings in fresh lemons everyday to the cave where his grandmother used to keep sheep. So cool!
And the lemonade was exactly what we needed.
We continued on.....
.....watching our steps and wobbly legs.
In what felt like no time, we made it to the end and started to descend!
We got a little lost trying to figure out how to actually get to Positano {again, a lot of people take a bus or taxi to and from the hike so don't really have to figure out how to get back from there on foot}.
We followed the path in what felt like the right direction.....
.....admiring the sights above Positano....
....and all the cool old Fiats.
Finally, we could see Positano below us!
As it took us 2000 steps to get up to the Path, it took us about another 2000 down on very shaky legs and not very well marked streets. After a few missed turns, we finally came down the last staircase.....
.....into Positano town! This crowded touristy town was a welcome sight to two very tired and dirty people, so we waited along with more crowds to get on the tiny bus back to Praiano to make the most of the rest of our final day.
xoxo,
stephanie marie
