The Infreschi Path
Hats off in front of one of the most important naturalistic treasures of the Mediterranean!
The Infreschi and Masseta Coast is one of the two Marine Protected Areas in the Cilento National Park — the other is Punta Licosa, Santa Maria di Castellabate.
It includes the stretch of coast from Marina di Camerota to Scario, recognized internationally — UNESCO above all — as a unique heritage: for this reason it is also a Site of Community Importance and Special Protection Area.
The path is also a segment of the European Path E12, the Path of the Mediterranean, which connects Gibraltar to Athens: the part that concerns the Cilento is one of the few completed and viable, as here it has been not necessary to do anything but follow ancient paths travelled for millennia.
Although the human presence dates back to prehistoric times, the area is one of the least urbanized in Italy.
The path therefore develops in the middle of the wildest nature.
From Lentiscelle beach, in Marina di Camerota, the route allows you to see from above, surrounded by greenery, this extraordinary stretch of coast, characterized by erosive karst and residual volcanism.
In fact, it stands only 40 sea miles from the submarine volcanoes Palinuro and Marsili, one of the largest active submarine volcanoes in the entire Mediterranean. This created an environment where beaches, ravines, caves, follow one another continuously.
From the Torre dello Zancale, there is Cala Fortuna with the wonderful Blue Grotto, and all the others.
These caves, more than half a million years ago, saw the presence of Homo Camerotaensis, a contemporary hominid of Neanderthals.
And along the journey, beaches isolated absolutely not accessible by car, but very famous for their beauty: Pozzallo Beach, Cala Bianca, awarded as the most beautiful beach in Italy in 2013, up to the magnificent Infreschi Bay.
The spectacle from above is pure wonder: unreal colours’ water, which turns from turquoise to the most dazzling emerald, rocks that close almost with a hug what is one of the largest natural ports in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
In Roman times, then, the natural port of Infreschi was at the centre of the Mediterranean naval routes, and the large Infreschi Grotto was used as a sort of refrigerator ante litteram. The remains of the tuna fishery are still visible.
The excursion allows you to fully enjoy these beauties, first from the perspective of the land and then from the perspective of the sea.
Starting from Marina di Camerota, local guides will take you along the trail with stops first at the Pozzallo beach, then at Cala Bianca, finally at Infreschi Bay. From here, the return by boat to Marina di Camerota, enjoying the spectacle of the coast, this time from the sea.
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