The walk of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni (PNCVDA) can start from any point of the park, which is the largest protected area in Europe (including protected marine areas). It does not matter where you start from, and you don’t have to be an athlete to do it. The “Cammino del Parco” is for everyone, and it is a naturalistic, historical and cultural itinerary that includes: “Tre Caves, Three Rivers” Caves of Castelcivita, the Caves Dell’Angelo of Pertosa and Auletta and the Caves of Morigerati and the three rivers that are connected to them: Calore Salernitano, Tanagro and Bussento. Marine protected areas Santa Maria di Castellabate and Costa degli Infreschi and the Masseta of Marina di Camerota. UNESCO World Heritage Sites Paestum, Velia, Certosa di Padula, the landscape of the PNCVDA and the immaterial heritage of the Mediterranean Diet. So start the path and discover a multitude of villages and their history; enjoy the products of this territory where Ancel Keys discovered the lifestyle that makes you live longer. Contemplate memorable landscapes at every step. Set your eyes on the geometric patterns of the cultivated fields of the Sele, Vallo di Diano and Velino plains. Look at how the wind combs the ripe wheat, the vineyards full of grapes at the end of summer, the forts of the Alburni and the steep massif of Mount Bulgheria. Every day and every season always gives you different emotions, under the clear sky of Cilento with over 120 km of coastline dotted with beaches and rocks bathed by the mythical sea. Follow the directions on the App that you can download for free on the PNCVDA website and enjoy the pleasure of getting surprised at every new discovery. Look at the faces of the people, enter the churches of the small villages, go down into the caves, climb the mountains, touch the wild orchids, lie on the beaches, overlooking the rocks, bathed in the sea awarded with 11 blue flags. Taste a new and unknown type of food every night with the ingredients of the Mediterranean Diet; pray in the Certosa di Padula, open your mind on the hill of Elea Velia, which was the homeland of Parmenides and Zeno; lose yourself among the columns of the Temples of Paestum, queen of Magna Graecia. Stop often and listen to the stories, visit the villages, stand in silence in the aisles of the Basilian churches, catch the sun in the squares of the villages, listen to the stories of the elderly who still make them alive. Open the shutters every morning and admire the view of a village from the top, with its many roofs. Day after day your destination is approaching and it is hard to believe that the itinerary must end. You will be surprised by the strength of your steps, which slowly and steadily have added up to just over three hundred and fifty kilometers, in about 20 days of walking. Choose how long you want to dedicate to the journey and remember that every step will surprise you: this unforgettable experience will add “life” to your life. It is a “journey” made of growing emotions that become stronger and stronger on the way. Going forward to a fixed goal by walking will be able to resurrect the natural instinct to go on your legs that can not have become a stranger to the point of not recognizing it as the founding essence of mankind!
The Walk of the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni
