The Stairs to Ravello

Travelers and writers have been gushing over the Amalfi coast for more than a century.  I don't flatter myself that I will add any new insights to their torrent, but perhaps, perhaps.   Tourists have frequented the Amafli coast since the mule and cart road was built circa 1865.  My first bit of important information is that the road has not improved much since then.  Traffic, however, has increased dramatically, including the addition of lots of buses.  I am sure the road was a pleasant albeit dusty trip in the 1800's.  It is still a very scenic route, one of the most spectacular coasts roads in the world in fact.  So, here is the first of our helpful hints:  Do not drive the Amalfi Coast Road.   You may ask: Why Not?  And I would answer thusly:

May is still the off-season in this part of Italy.  Regardless, the normal load of traffic on the coast road is far more than it can bear, what with buses, rental cars, locals, motociclisti and scooter maniacs all vying for space at the next hairpin turn.  And there are many, many hairpin turns.  Below the hairpin turns are sheer 500 foot drops to a pristine azure sea and very pointy rocks.  I cannot imagine what it is like in the high season.

Point One:  Leave the driving to someone else.  The bus ride will be more than exciting enough.  Really.  The public bus from Salerno is a mere 2.20 Euro.  Nothing in Disneyland comes close.

Before the cart track was built, folks could only get here via boat.  They still come by boat, thousands of them at a time, disembarking from the cruise ships for a few hours.  That brings us to...

Point Two:  The Cruise ships only dock in the port of Amalfi.  That is, in the actual town named Amalfi.  Cruise ships with lots, and lots of tourists.  There are a lovely string of very cool and charming villages scattered along the coast, all of them linked by cheap public buses and free but strenuous trails (more on that in a bit).  So, given the above, choose your accommodations with care.  Oh, the town of Amalfi and its posh uphill cousin, Ravello, are the most expensive on the coast. 

Point three should seem obvious:  Don't travel here in the high season.  It gets very, very hot.  It gets very, very expensive.  It gets very, very crowded.

But today, it is not the high season.  Today, we are walking up, up, up, out of the amazing village of Minori, climbing the thousands of stairs that go up (and down!) to Ravello.  To enjoy hiking here is to embrace the climbing of ancient stairs.  I can tell you, without exaggeration or hyperbole, that you will be trodding flagstones laid down many generations before you were born.  Many of the paths are centuries old.  Hiking the Amalfi coast is a magical experience of threading the labyrinth of history, charm and incredible scenic beauty.  And you are going to have to work for it.

Ravello is up there.  Minori is down here.  Terraced into the hillsides are the lemon groves which yield the most important crop on the coast.  During parts of their growing cycle, the lemon trees are covered with the green fabric that you see draped across the terraces.

It is a very steep landscape, all mountains, valleys and seacoast.  The Amafli is cut off from the north by mountains that block access to the Gulfo di Napoli.  To the south is the Gulfo di Salerno.  Everywhere else there are very steep hills, rocks and stairs.  And vistas, amazing vistas, the kind of views that incite dreams of selling everything to raise money to buy a tiny stone hut on a terraced lemon grove.  Get a grip Byron, the madness will pass.  Keep walking.  

Culture shock.  What else does one need after a hard stair climb?

Thousands of stairs later, high above the jeweled sea, lies the cultural and pretentious little village of Ravello.  Very expensive shops and restaurants, tourists who arrived here via taxi or bus, and a very, very impressive concert season with venues scattered amongst the to-die-for villas make up the offerings for the tourists.  This is the spot for the well-heeled traveler, the posh, the folks who flock to Chang Mai in northern Thailand.  From spa to yoga retreat to classical music, it's all here.  And, in fairness, it is very, very beautiful.  

One of the many vistas from the village of Ravello

Let us suppose that you have tired of the shopping scene of Ravello and wish to journey on.  Back onto the trail of stairs and, I assure you, the tourists disappear.  An even steeper section of stairs, rough and broken in places, drops down to the town of Amalfi.  We trod the flagstones, knowing that we would be climbing part of this on the way back to Minori.  Ah well, in for a cent, in for a Euro.

The drop to Amalfi and the craziness of the coast road.

The villages of the Amalfi coast are quiet during the off-season, slow and sedate.  Amalfi itself is much busier.  We spent an hour or two watching the people and restoring ourselves with a strict regimen of gelati consumption.  When we had had enough (the town is splendid, not to be missed, and very popular) we began pioneering our own route back to Minori, ignoring the tourist map that suggested we climb back to Ravello.

The quiet rewards of the simple paths will be evident as one walks by.

The further village of Maiori lies below us, while Minori is hidden beneath the dropoff.  Vistas open and close without warning, taking ones breath away.

A typical walk approaching one of the hillside hamlets.  Besides the runing of electricity, nothing much has changed here.  

Here is a little video of one of the small hamlet along the way:

Amalfi Coast Hamlet 

One day of climbing the Amalfi coast and I was hooked.  A hiker can pop into a bustling town, enjoy or not, and disappear with a few steps.  I can assure you that the off-season will yield solitude should you seek it.  The climbs are strenous and well worth it.  One day of walking will convince you that there is a lot here to gush about.

Ciao for now!