dossier

Cilento National Park

Travel Information

Travel: The nearestairport is Naples

Arrival: From Naplescentral train station it is one hour to Capaccio by train then a short busjourney to Roccadaspide. You will be met on arrival and before beingtransferred to your accommodation in Felitto there is a short visit to the towncenter and the castle. 

End of Tour: The tour endsafter breakfast on Day 9. Taxi to the train station at Sicignano for yourreturn journey to Naples, which takes approx. 2 to 2.5 hours.

Season:  April to November excluding mid July and thewhole month of August, it is just too hot.

Level of Difficulty
Grade: Moderate
There is some walking uphill, occasionally on paths with rough surfaces. Onsome days extensions or shortcuts are possible. Most of the walks are on goodpaths, but some overgrown stretches cannot be avoided! Through the extensivefootpath network of the area a wealth of natural and cultural treasures can bereached relatively easy. We walk through beautiful pristine natural areas andattractive countryside. We pass close to beautiful chapels and ancientfarmhouses, cross-medieval bridges and will see caves and waterfalls. On theway there are several nice little medieval towns to be visited. The walkingtimes given here on the dossier do not include time for stops.

Fitness:  A high standard of fitness is not necessary but travelersshould be able to walk for up to 5 hours a day in hot sun on dusty or stonytracks.

Waymarking: Only a very small partof the route is waymarked; elsewhere it is necessary to follow the routedescriptions provided together with the maps.

Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation is on a half board basis (dinner and breakfast), in Felitto,Sant’Angelo and Sicignano in attractive farmhouses ('agriturismo'), in Valledell’Angelo in a newly restored village hotel, all with en suite facilities. Nopicnic lunches are included in the tour price, but these can be prepared foryou by the owners of the accommodation you will be staying in or materials forpicnics can be purchased in the villages where you stay.

Nights 1 & 2:Theseare spent in Felitto in a good ‘agriturismo’ it is located just outside themedieval village, in a beautiful green valley.

Nights 3 &4:  We stay in Valle dell’Angelo,where we stay in a completely new, comfortable ‘village hotel’,  in the pretty town square

Night 5 & 6: We stay just outside the little town of Sant’Angelo, at the south sideof the Alburni mountains, in a recently restored beautiful farmhouse, whichalso boasts a swimming pool.

Night 7& 8: The last nights are spent in a comfortable‘agriturismo’, just outside the little town of Scorzo – Sicignano, underneaththe towering Alburni mountains.

EXTRA NIGHTS IN HOTELS: It is possible to include extra nights in any ofthe accommodation en route. Details and prices on request.

ON SELF-GUIDED TOURS WE PROVIDE YOU WITH: Route notes, maps at 1:25,000scale.

THE TOUR PRICE INCLUDES: Transfers from Capaccio trainstation to Felitto upon arrival, transfers from the agriturismo to the villageand back if necessary; a pick-up from Roscigno on day 4, a transfer to Roscignoon day 5, a transfer into the mountains and a pick-up from Petina on day 7, anda transfer to the train station (if necessary) on the day of departure. Luggagetransport between all accommodations is included. On day 3travelers have to take a bus, cost not included. (only a couple of Euroshowever).

Outline Itinerary

Day 1:Arrival in Felitto. Pickup service from Capaccio or Roccadaspide, which can bereached from Naples by train and bus. Short visit to the town centre and thecastle before transfer to the agriturismo.

Day 2:From the town square of Felitto we descend into the gorge and follow the river. The path has several good viewpoints overlooking the canyon. We come acrosscaves (one formerly inhabited by a hermit) and the ruins of watermills. Underneath the towering colored rocks wearrive at a famous medieval bridge, one of the best preserved in the area, atthe very scenic entrance of the canyon. From here through forest andcountryside we walk back to Felitto.

12km/7mi – approx 4-5 hourswalking.

Day 3:From Felitto we take a 30 minute bus journey to Laurino. You can see this town,on a hill high above the river. We start our walk following the canyon belowLaurino. We arrive at a small medieval bridge which leads to the little churchof Sant’Elena. From here a good muletrack leads into the mountains. We thenfollow the spectacular green Sporana valley. We head towards the beech forest,and discover one of the most interesting karst phenomena - a river disappearinginto the ground. The way back, again on ancient mule tracks , takes us alongsome of the most amazing viewpoints of the area. An optional visit brings us tothe cave of St. Michael, with a statue of the Archangel. From here its an easyway down to the pretty little village of Valle dell’Angelo, the ‘Valley of theAngel’, where we will find our accommodation for the night. 15km/9mi – approx 5hours walking.

Day 4:From Valle dell’Angelo it is a short walk to Piaggine, another pretty village,where we can wander along the narrow medieval streets and drink a coffee in thetown square. Then we start the real walk, descending into a pretty greenvalley, with maquis, olive groves and orchards; an old path brings us to thesmall town of Sacco, where the cathedral should be visited. An old muletrackleads us down to the Sammaro river, which here comes to the surface, afterhaving run underground for several kilometres. An ideal spot for a picniclunch. The path then takes us up to Roscigno Vecchio, a Pompei of the 19^thcentury. The little village, abandoned at the beginning of the 20^thcentury, has remained unchanged since then, a beautiful setting especially atsunset. From Roscigno we take the bus back to Valle dell’Angelo.

14km/8mi – approx 5 hours walking.

Day 5:Today you will be collected and driven by car to Roscigno, where we start thewalk in the town centre. From here we climb up to Monte Pruno, anarchaeological site and a beautiful viewpoint over the whole area. From here wewalk down to Corleto Monforte, as the name suggests, a fortified mountain, witha pretty medieval town centre overlooking the valley. Along an ancient mule trackwe then walk to Sant’Angelo a Fasanella, one of the most interesting littletowns in the area.

10km/6mi – approx 4-5 hourswalking.

Day 6:First we walk to the town centre of Sant’Angelo with an impressive church inthe cave of St. Michael, certainly one of the most beautiful churches you willhave ever seen! We walk down through the medieval streets to the riverFasanella. We follow the river valley, along an old Roman muletrack, and cometo one of the most picturesque sites of the National Park: The Risorgenzadell’Auso, where the river Auso comes to the light, after having rununderground for several kilometres. The ruins of the medieval watermills andthe bridge make the picture complete. From here we walk up to the church ofCardoneto and then along ancient steps to the nice little village of Ottati,from where we go back to Sant’Angelo, either by bus or on foot.

9km/5.4mi – approx 4 hours if usingthe bus. 14km/8.4mi – 5-6 hours walking if walking back.

Day 7: Ashort transfer brings us to the high plain of the Alburni mountains, a wildcalcareous mountain chain with many caves, huge beech forests and bare rocks,an area with an impressive bird life. We walk along easy muletracks to one ofthe most impressive viewpoints of the area: ‘Il Figliolo’, a sheer drop ofseveral hundreds of meters and a marvellous site to overlook the plain ofSalerno, the sea and the mountain plains. Then along ancient mule tracks wewalk down to the village of Petina, where we have time to wander through the old streets, before taking thebus to Sicignano, to our ‘agriturismo’ for the night.

12km/7mi– 4 hours walking.

Day 8: Onthis last walking day we will visit the north side of the Alburni mountains. Wewalk through attractive countryside and a few little villages. For those whowant, there is the possibility to walk up into the ‘real’ mountains. Severalpossible options today ranging between 2-8 hours walking, depending on whatoption is taken.

Day 9:End of tour.  Depart Scorzo – Sicignano.