Waterfalls of Amalfi: Ferriere Valley

Waterfalls of Amalfi: trekking in prehistoric nature

All over the world Amalfi is known for its glorious past and its sea, few, however, know about the nature reserve “Valle delle Ferriere” the waterfalls of Amalfi. Due to its special geographic location, among the Scala mountains, the reserve is protected from cold northern winds by its rocky ridges, open to warm-humid southern currents and subject to high rainfall distributed over three months: it has thus preserved its microclimate unchanged over time, preserving intact plants from distant times.

In fact, botanists know this reserve for the presence of a rare plant in Europe, Woodwardia radicans, a so-called living fossil that appeared on earth in the Tertiary. Besides this important example of a plant from the pre-glacial period, the nature reserve is the habitat of several species of Orchids and the small carnivorous plant “Pinguicola hirtiflora” whose meal consists of small insects.

The valley is also populated by small animals among which the presence of the “Spectacled Salamander” should be noted.

The trail is easy and not very strenuous and winds through beautiful forests, springs, small waterfalls of Amalfi and several rapids of the Rio Canneto, once used as the motive power for the ancient paper mills, where the famous Amalfi paper was once produced, which is still in great demand today and which you can admire in the Amalfi Paper Museum. In fact, you can see the ruins of the 12th-century paper mills, which can still be visited.

The landscape is unspoiled and you descend to the valley with breathtaking panoramic glimpses, crossing typical Mediterranean scrub and terraces of lemon trees and vineyards. Halfway along, you come across the ancient ironworks, from which the valley takes its name, which supplied the ancient Maritime Republic of Amalfi with iron.