Sentiero degli Dei — 2026 Trail Guide
The Path of the Gods, Mapped
The Amalfi Coast's most famous hike, honestly explained: which way to walk it, how to reach the Bomerano trailhead without a car, the 1,500 steps that wait at the end — and the one thing a guided tour actually buys you.
Where it runs — and the hikes worth booking
Everyone walks the same path — the cliffs west from Bomerano (Agerola, ~630 m) to Nocelle above Positano. What changes is where you start your day. The map is a decision tool: tap your base — Sorrento, Positano or Agerola — to see the hike that picks up there. The bold line is the trail itself, Bomerano to Nocelle.
Blue markers = starting points you can book from (Sorrento, Positano, Agerola). The bold blue line is the CAI #327 trail traced from OpenStreetMap (Bomerano→Nocelle — carry a GPX for navigation); from Nocelle it's a local bus or the ~1,500 steps down to Positano. Prices via Viator; verified June 2026.
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Path of the Gods Guided Hike with Nino (from Sorrento)
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Path of the Gods with Enzo (from Positano)
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Hike the Path of the Gods from Sorrento
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Path of the Gods Hiking Day Tour from Sorrento
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Path of the Gods Private Hiking Tour from Agerola
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Live availability and booking via Viator. We earn a commission on bookings made through these links, at no extra cost to you — it never affects our independent rankings.
What you walk past, west to east
The trail (CAI #327, maintained by the Club Alpino Italiano Monti Lattari) is well signposted with red-and-white waymarks. From Bomerano it runs mostly level then gently down, splitting partway into a popular lower path and a quieter, more scenic upper "alta via." The highlights in order:
- Bomerano / Piazza Paolo Capasso (start, ~630 m) — the trailhead in Agerola. Stock up on water and focaccia here; it's the last reliable shop.
- Colle Serra (~578 m, roughly halfway) — a saddle with a memorial tablet to Giustino Fortunato, the 19th-century historian who popularised the trail's name. A short detour drops toward the Convento di San Domenico.
- Grotta del Biscotto (~630 m, the high point) — an overhanging "biscuit" rock face with old cave dwellings built into the cliff.
- The panorama stretch — the eastern half opens onto the trail's signature views: Positano from above, the Li Galli islets (the Sirens' home in the legend), Praiano, and Capri on the horizon.
- Nocelle (~450 m, end of the official trail) — a tiny hamlet "between sky and sea." From here you either take the local bus down, or face the staircase.
- The steps to Positano (~1,500–1,800) — a knee-grinding ~500 m descent to the coast road, then a short walk into Positano. Skip it via the Nocelle bus if your knees prefer.
Why "Path of the Gods"? Legend says the gods of Olympus descended this coastline to save Ulysses from the Sirens singing off the Li Galli islets — churning up the cliffs as they ran. The name was popularised by Giustino Fortunato in the 1800s.
The decisions that make or break the day
- Direction: always Bomerano → Nocelle. Net downhill (−356 m vs +184 m), the best views sit in front of you, and the sun stays at your back in the morning. The reverse is a hot uphill slog.
- Difficulty: easier than its reputation — Grade E, mostly straightforward walking. The real challenges are uneven rocky footing, sun exposure, and the stairs at the end. There are unrailed cliff edges: fine for confident walkers, not for vertigo. The inner #327a variant bypasses the most exposed stretch.
- The stairs are optional. Stopping at Nocelle and riding the bus down to Positano is a legitimate, popular choice — take the 1,500+ steps only if you specifically want to walk into town.
- Bring: proper shoes (uneven tread), at least 1.5 L of water per person, sun protection, and an offline map. There's only one unreliable seasonal kiosk en route.
The bus relay — and why a transfer is worth it
This is the part nobody warns you about. There's no quick way to Bomerano: you ride a SITA Sud bus to Agerola and get off at the Bomerano stop (Piazza Paolo Capasso). Tell the driver "Bomerano" or "Sentiero degli Dei" — they don't always call it.
- From Amalfi: direct, ~40 min.
- From Positano: via Amalfi, ~2 hours total.
- From Sorrento: via Amalfi, ~2.5–3 hours total.
Buy a Costiera 24-hour bus pass (about €10) at a tabacchi or in the Unico Campania app before boarding — single tickets bought on board are unreliable. Coming back, walk or bus down from Nocelle to Positano, then take a SITA bus (~1 hr) or, April–October, a ferry to Sorrento (~35 min).
That 2–3 hour each-way relay is the single biggest reason to book a guided hike with round-trip transfer: you're collected near your hotel, driven to the trailhead, and picked up at the end — turning a logistics puzzle into a door-to-door day for roughly $75–$105.
Season, time of day, crowds
- Best months: April–May and late September–October — mild temperatures, lighter crowds.
- Avoid: July–August (brutal heat on an exposed trail, peak crowds) and winter (rain, mud, slippery rock, small-landslide risk).
- Start early — by 10 am in shoulder season, by 8 am in summer — to beat the heat and the midday tour groups. Avoid weekends, especially Sundays.
- Closures: the trail is closed ad hoc during wildfires or after landslides — check locally before you set out.
Path of the Gods, answered
The official CAI #327 trail from Bomerano to Nocelle is about 5.3 km and takes roughly 2 hours one-way. Continue down the steps into Positano and it becomes ~7.6 km and 2.5–4 hours total. The high point is ~630 m at Grotta del Biscotto.
Hike Bomerano (Agerola) → Nocelle, west-bound. It's net downhill, keeps the best Positano-and-Capri panorama in front of you, and puts the morning sun at your back. Starting from Positano is a steep, sun-exposed climb.
Easy to moderate (Grade E). Fit, average hikers manage the main path fine; the difficulty is uneven footing, sun exposure, and the stair descent. There are unrailed cliff edges, so it's not advised for serious vertigo — the inner #327a route avoids the most exposed section.
SITA Sud bus to Agerola's Bomerano stop: ~40 min from Amalfi, ~2 hrs from Positano, ~3 hrs from Sorrento (changing at Amalfi). A Costiera 24-hour pass (~€10) is best value. A guided hike with transfer removes the relay entirely.
Roughly 1,500–1,800 steps (1,792 is the most-cited figure) down to the coast road, then ~1 km into Positano. It's the hardest part on the knees — many hikers take the local bus down from Nocelle instead.
No — the trail is well-marked and easy to follow with an offline map. The reason to book one is the round-trip transfer, which removes the 2–3 hour each-way bus relay to the trailhead.
April–May and late September–October. Avoid July–August (heat + crowds) and winter (rain/landslide risk). Start early and skip weekends, especially Sundays.
Older children and teens with hiking experience can, supervised — but it's not recommended for young children because of the unrailed cliff edges, and the 1,500+ steps are punishing for little legs (take the bus down).