Hiking in Campania is certainly not the first thing that comes to mind when hearing the name of this region. Campania is rather associated with the sea, Naples, or Costiera Amalfitana; yet Campania also has very beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers. And a lot of more or less cool hiking routes, great for a 2-3 day trip, e.g. at Easter, as I did.

Where we stayed :

Deciding to go hiking in Campania this time, we chose Bosco as our base, a small town in the mountains with a great sea view. We stayed in a well-equipped and generally comfortable apartment, Il Vicoletto; we could see the mountains from the window. Bosco itself is not a particularly interesting place, as most mini-villages are, but it is nevertheless quite pretty, charming, and ‘photo-worthy’. And this panoramic view of the coast!

The weather was great, we decided to go to Sapri to do our first trail and do some Easter shopping.

Hiking in Campania – Day 1

For our first hiking in Campania we chose Sentiero ‘apprezzami l’asino’ – loosely translated as ‘I appreciate my donkey’ path. The name of the route suggests a love for donkeys, but it has nothing to do with adoration of these animals; it comes from a not-so-nice practice/legend. The path originally called ‘Apprezzamm u’ Ciucc’ at the beginning of the 20th century was the only coastal connection between Sapri and Maratea and a key route for the exchange of goods transported by donkey.

The path is very narrow and steep in some places, and donkeys cannot walk backwards. Therefore, when two donkeys met at one of these points, the animals and their loads were valued, and in exchange for half the value of the ‘cheaper’ donkey, the other one was thrown into the sea. The appreciation of the donkey was purely an economic evaluation of the animal.

The entire route, which is 10 km in both directions, reaches the Mezzanotte Canal, which borders Campania and Basilicata. The first two sections of the route are very easy, then it becomes more demanding, as it includes several descents to the sea and very narrow sections. The total height difference is about 150 m.

The path of the dead donkeys starts from the stairs right at the entrance to the port of Sapri, where you can also park your car. At the beginning, the route is a wide, trampled road, so you can walk in normal shoes. Once you reach the road, continue straight ahead; the next part is similar – easy.

After reaching the broken fountain, you can turn around or continue walking. But the path changes: it is much narrower, more rocky, and not as comfortable (it’s good to have hikking shoes), but with great views of the coastline.We decided to keep going until we reached the ruins of the Capobianco Tower, one of the many built by the Kingdom of Naples. We actually saw the tower by accident – ​​we were just looking at the trees. After climbing the ruins, we were amazed by the blue sea and the beautiful panorama.

We came to the conclusion that hiking in Campania was a good idea for Easter, and since it was getting late and we had some shopping to do, we decided to turn back. The route continues, however, along the way, so if you want a bit longer hiking in Campania, you can see Scoglio dello Scialandro with the statue of Spigolatrice di Sapri, the beach Spiaggia degli Angeli, and the final points of the route i.e, Torre di Mezzanotte (Tower of the North) and il Canale di Mezzanotte (Canal of the North).

Sky Walk

Hiking in Campania doesn’t necessarily have to mean something difficult. That’s why before shopping we decided to check out the Sky Walk located in Cersuta di Maratea, in Basilicata. We relied on GPS, but in this case, the navigation was a bit crazy, and we couldn’t point to one point. So look out for the hanging terrace along Strada Statale 18. It looks like a brownish pavement behind the road barriers.

The car park (who designed it?) is right next to the entrance to the Sky Walk. To enter the car park, you have to take a sharp turn, but don’t speed up, because just after the turn, there is a rather steep vehicle. When leaving the car park, you can’t see if anything is coming from the right.

Hanging from the cliffs of Maratea and the Gulf of Policastro, the Sky Walk has two entrances: directly onto the ‘walkway’, and a short up and down the mountainside, so more in line with the ‘hiking in Campania’ option. Whichever you choose, you will reach a glass terrace from which we admired the deep blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea mingling with the blue of the sky.

The Sky Walk is quite a cool attraction, offering a stunning panorama and the opportunity to look down on the sea below your feet. It is worth going there when you are in the vicinity of Maratea.

The next day of the holidays we also spent enjoying hiking in Campania, and more about that next time.