Valle delle Ferriere: A hike on the Amalfi Coast

We were determined to try this hike again after not being able to complete it in December (see Ravello hike post). We knew there were spectacular views to be seen, but we had missed seeing all of the other beauty that this hike boasts. This time it was going to happen!

After spending the night in Ravello on Friday night, we awoke to a wonderful weather day filled with sunshine, clear skies, and low humidity. Jon and I, along with our friends Charlie and Ayessa, packed our bags full of granola bars, apples, and a bunch of water, and headed to the start of the Valle delle Ferriere (Valley of the Mills) trail in Pontone. The trail gets its name from an ancient ironworks factory that lies in the middle. The area is now a natural reserve that sadly, few tourists make it to. The trail started and continued with us going up, up, up, and then up some more. Just when we would think that we just possibly couldn't go up anymore, there was a whole new set of rock steps waiting for us.

At the very beginning, making our way to the trail.

UP!

 Soon into the hike we saw what we had come for. The mountains were spectacularly framed by the clear blue sky and the city of Amalfi in the far distance was calling out to us. The trail wrapped around high mountains and cliffs and while gazing out onto the magnificence of it all we felt just a little small in front of such grandeur.

Amalfi is down below.

Camera timers are great!

Way out there!

Ayessa and Charlie

Another grand view.

The path eventually took us into a cool and dense forest and we heard the sound of water in the short distance. Beautiful waterfalls were pouring down the mountainsides into small rivers and pools of water. We stopped for a rest, took off our shoes, and let the COLD water flow through our feet. While enjoying the serenity of it all, we snacked and replenished ourselves, poured water on our heads to cool off, and did some exploring of the area to see which direction to take.

Dipping our feet.

Exploring the area.

Our snack spot.

Onward!

We ended up (accidentally) taking the road less traveled and found ourselves hiking a route where the trail was barely visible and barely marked. We had to climb over and under trees that had fallen over the path and thorn plants waiting to stick us with their points. I was a little bit miserable thinking about what kind of critters were waiting for us in the greenery, but alas, we made it out without any bites or stings. We ended up passing the "easier" trail as it met up with ours, but where would the fun be if we actually knew where we were going?

Passing some goats.

After 4 hours from our start in Pontone we were able to make out some cars in Amalfi and knew that we were close. We just didn't know that the hike ended with more than 1000 steps to the town! Down, down, down, we went, wondering at every turn when the steps would end. Some people also start this hike going from Amalfi to Pontone and we couldn't imagine starting this long hike with more than 1000 steps.

The end... almost!

We saw a lot of these.

We finally made it to the bottom and felt ourselves gravitating towards food! We sat down at a restaurant and proceeded to order caprese, bruschetta, gnocchi, ravioli, spaghetti, tagliatelle, and a pizza. Yes, we were hungry and we finished it all! A stop for gelato afterwards put us into a food coma.

Charlie's shoes took a beating!

There are parts of this hike that we did not see (another big waterfall and the iron mill and paper mill), perhaps because we took the path that we had to bushwhack our way through? Either way, we enjoyed this fantastic hike in the company of good friends, on the beautiful Amalfi Coast.

Sabato abbiamo fatto hiking sulla costa di Amalfi. Il hike e' chiamato "Valle delle Ferriere" e inizia da Pontone e finisce a Amalfi. Abbiamo fatto hking su molto rocce e costoni. Dopo un'ora e mezzo siamo arrivati alle cascate. Erano belle! Abbiamo riposato qui cosi' abbiamo mangiato uno snack e abbiamo messo i nostri piedi e mani nell'acqua. L'acqua era rinfrescante perche' era fuori caldo! Tre ore dopo, alla fine, siamo andati giu' per piu' di 1000 scale a Amalfi! Eravamo molto stanchi!

La settimana scorsa, siamo andati alla costiera amalfitana a fare un hike. Il hike che si trova in un parco naturale si chiama Valle dei Ferriere e incomincia da Pontone, vicino a Ravello, e finisce alla citta' di Amalfi. Abbiamo dormito a Ravello e la mattina seguente ci siamo svegliati presto per incominciare un hike di cinque ore. Le prime due ore, il hike e’ stato di salire la montagna con molte scale. Dopo due ore, abbiamo visto alcune cascate e camminato nell’acqua fredda. E’ stato molto buono sentirla sopra I nostri piedi stanchi. Quando siamo tornati, abbiamo dovuto camminare in basso per piu’ di un mille scale a Amalfi! Quando siamo entrati in citta’, eravamo molto sporchi, stanchi e affamati. Ci siamo seduti al ristorante e mangiato un grande pranzo. In seguito, abbiamo
mangiato il gelato come premio. E’ stato un grande giorno!