Cilento National Park

Cilento National Park Overview

A self-guided walking holiday exploring the Cilento National Park in Campania - gateway to southern Italy. This is traditional Italy to its core, with unspoilt medieval villages, green vistas, and a pretty coastline dotted with sunset-soaked fishing villages.

Coastal and mountain paths in an ever-changing scenery

The Cilento National Park is located in Campania, considered to be the real beginning of Italy’s south.

Follow coastal paths between the medieval towns of Agropoli and Santa Maria di Castellabate – the latter, along with hilltop Castellabate, appeared in the cult Italian film ‘Benvenuti al Sud’. Then head around Punta Licosa, a rocky outlook named after one of the sirens Ulysses met in ‘The Odyssey’. The path follows closely around the coast’s edge and climbs into the mountains, affording fabulous views across to the Amalfi Coast and Capri on a clear day.

Explore Castellabate, one of I Borghi più belli d’Italia (the most beautiful villages in Italy), before an easier but nonetheless glorious walk to Perdifumo and onwards to Rocca Cilento, where you will spend two nights, walking the Valley of the Mills on your second day. Then comes one of our favourite walks – a steady climb up to Monte Stella, the spiritual heart of ancient Cilento, before a gentle descent through chestnut woods to a welcoming agriturismo just below Galdo.

Our final walk to the quiet fishing village of Acciaroli, said to inspire Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Old Man and the Sea’, does not disappoint either. Visit Celso, where the rebellion of 1848 began, and then pass through a succession of small, historical villages, each with its own story to tell.

Consider adding a day to visit the World Heritage Site of Paestum, a major ancient Greek city, at either end of your walk.

Very important:This route is available as ‘App only’ – you will navigate using the new On Foot Holiday Companion App (it contains all your holiday documents too), and won’t receive printed materials.

See the On Foot Holidays website for details of prices and dates, as well as more about the app.