The Valle delle Ferriere is the valley behind Amalfi. You walk up it on CAI trail 325 from Piazza Flavio Gioia (about 3 km, up to roughly 330 m), or come in from Pontone di Scala on CAI 323a (1.7 km, about 30 minutes to the ironworks ruin). The trails are free and open all year; the fenced reserve area at the end, with the big waterfall and the Woodwardia radicans fern, costs €5 and, per the Comune di Scala, is open April to October. A 2022 landslide on trail 325 is still there, but CAI Monti Lattari reports a bypass that makes the trail passable again (checked 2 November 2026).
Distances, grades and landslide status from the CAI Monti Lattari pages for trails 325 (updated April 2024) and 323a; ticket, price and season from the Comune di Scala; reserve rules from the Carabinieri Biodiversità and RGPBio pages; bus times from the SITA Sud PDF valid from 2 November 2026. All read on 2 November 2026. The sources do not agree on everything: see the note on access below.
From the bus terminus in Amalfi you go up through the town, past the cathedral, and along Via delle Cartiere to the Paper Museum, an old mill. A stairway (Via Grade Lunghe) then climbs out of the houses into lemon terraces and the valley of the Canneto stream.
CAI Monti Lattari lists what you pass, in order: the ruined De Luca paper mill, the church of the Madonna del Rosario, the Amatruda mill, the ruins of a small hydroelectric plant, the Lucibello-Confalone and Marino mills, a working hydro plant, and the ruin of the ironworks (244 m) that gave the valley its name. According to CAI, iron was worked here from ore shipped from Elba, and the valley produced paper from the 1200s to the 1800s.
Past the ironworks the path follows the stream, crosses it and climbs to the aqueduct at about 288 m. From there a short branch leads to the reserve gate. The valley floor is shaded, damp and green: the Carabinieri describe it as a case of "inverted vegetation", with mixed woodland at the bottom and Mediterranean scrub on the cliffs above.
This is where most guides get muddled, because there are three different things.
The trails (CAI 325 from Amalfi, 323a from Pontone, and the others in the valley) are free and, per CAI Monti Lattari, walkable all year.
The fenced reserve area at the end of 325, with the big waterfall and the Woodwardia radicans fern, is ticketed. The Comune di Scala gives €5 and an April-to-October season (page updated 14 March 2025). CAI gives the same €5.
The rest of the state reserve (455 hectares, 300 to 1,203 m, run by the Carabinieri Biodiversità unit in Caserta) is a different matter. The Carabinieri page still says access needs their prior authorization and that groups must be accompanied, and the fern's protection zone is off-limits to visitors. If you want the upper valley, write to the Caserta office first, not on the day.
On 9 April 2022 a landslide hit trail 325 just above the Agriturismo Fore Porta, between the farm and the ironworks ruin. CAI Monti Lattari closed that stretch and sent walkers to the reserve via Pontone instead.
CAI's 2024 update says the slide was never removed, but a bypass now runs parallel to the old line, about 5 metres lower, along an existing aqueduct. With it, 325 is walkable again from Amalfi to the reserve.
An older closure is worth knowing: in 2018 the reserve authority closed the middle and upper part of the valley because of a rockfall on the Punta d'Aglio–Rottone road. We could not find a current notice saying whether that is still in force, so treat the upper valley as authorization-only.
Take the SITA Sud bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. In the winter timetable (2 November 2026 to 21 March 2027) the trip takes about 1 h 30 to 1 h 40, e.g. the 06:30 arrives at 08:00. Sit on the right for the sea. The bus stops at Piazza Flavio Gioia, which is also where trail 325 starts.
For the shorter way in, change at Amalfi for the Scala–Ravello–Amalfi line. Only some runs go via Pontone, about 20–25 minutes up. Check the PDF the evening before: the times change with the season.
From April to October CAI notes ferries arriving at Amalfi from Salerno, Positano and Capri. See our by boat page for the Sorrento side, and getting around for tickets.
It is the shadiest walk on this coast, which makes it a good summer choice when the Path of the Gods is too hot. It is also the one where people slip: on 7 June 2026 two walkers twisted ankles on the stairs of the Pontone path on the same day and were carried out by mountain rescue (Il Vescovado).
Shoes with grip matter more than fitness. Avoid it after heavy rain: CAI warns this is landslide ground.
No, not for the trails or the ticketed waterfall area. The Carabinieri say the wider state reserve needs their prior authorization and accompanied groups.
The trails are free. The fenced reserve area with the big waterfall and the fern costs €5 per person, per the Comune di Scala and CAI Monti Lattari.
The trails are open all year. Per the Comune di Scala, the ticketed reserve area opens April to October, so outside that window ask the Comune before you go.
No longer, according to CAI Monti Lattari: the 2022 slide is still there, but a bypass built along an aqueduct makes the trail passable again.
About 3 km one way on CAI 325, from sea level to roughly 330 m. From Pontone, CAI 323a is 1.7 km to the ironworks ruin, about 30 minutes.
Another name for the same valley, after the paper mills that worked here from the 1200s to the 1800s. Amalfi's Paper Museum, at the bottom of the valley, is one of them.
Yes. SITA Sud bus to Amalfi (about 1 h 30 – 1 h 40), then walk from the bus stop, or change for a bus to Pontone.
Read on 2 November 2026: CAI Monti Lattari trail pages 325 (with the 2022 and 2024 landslide updates) and 323a; the Comune di Scala page on the Valle delle Ferriere (ticket €5, April–October, updated 14 March 2025); the Carabinieri reserve page (area, altitude, managing body, authorization rule, Pontone itinerary); the RGPBio reserve page (Woodwardia zone off-limits, booking via Comune di Scala, updated 31 August 2023); the SITA Sud timetable PDF valid from 2 November 2026; Il Vescovado for the 2018 rules and the June 2026 rescues. Tour operator prices were seen but not used. We do not publish opening hours, the infopoint address or winter openings because we could not confirm them on an official page. No commercial agreements.
