Updated on June 16, 2019
Hiking to Monte Faito
On the morning of May 22nd, our backpacks filled with a bottle of water, a sandwich and fruit were ready for our excursion to 1,131 meters of altitude on Mount Faito! But don’t worry before you start our “little” walk, for some it was their first time, we crossed clouds and forests inside a funicular.
At the exit of the funicular we started our journey at the top of Mount Faito… did you know that the name of this mountain comes from a derivative of the trees that grow there? (beechwood = faggeta (Italian)). A question was asked, how can we find this richness in vegetation here. If you look at the soil closer, you will notice that it is made up of limestone and friable rocks, all this substrate comes from an important natural element: Vesuvius. The eruptions and ashes allowed the soil to feed a natural wonder that is this forest.
Before reaching the top of the mountain, we spoke about some interesting facts! During the winter the old population preserve large quantities of ice to finally resell it in summer to the richest people who lived in their villas at the foot of the mountain. Continuing our journey we arrived under a cave where the fresh water coming out of the mountain was “sacred” (really) but something else captivated our attention, it was an endemic plant because we find it only here and it had the particularity of being carnivorous!
After 1h30 of climbing, we reach the top, slightly disappointed because the clouds didn’t allow us from admiring the landscape… We decided to have our meal but the place was filled with flies, and our Laura was so scared. Half an hour later the clouds disappeared and here we were, an incredible 360-degree landscape, an exceptional panorama.
From there you could see the entire Sorrento golf, as far away as Naples via Vesuvius and as close as Castellammare. Here you could feel a sense of guilt and sadness about the gap you could see, a peaceful and unfortunately not very frequented nature compared to the active city at the foot of the mountain. Sadness because not enough people realised the luck they have to leave there. This excursion was a real experience to live in all directions and for me a bit of nostalgia because the landscape remind me the mountains of Réunion Island.
On the way back we split into two groups and the most reckless ones took the longest path, in order to continue to flourish from this beautiful nature. Even if we were with our mentor who is a tour guide we still had this strange feeling of not knowing where to go… But without too much worry we arrive at the bottom of the mountain exhausted after these 3 hours of descent. We took the bus to the city of Vico Equense where some of us began to sleep and dream of ice cream and pizzas…
