Hiking Mount Vesuvius

This was a bucket list item for me. My family is from Torre Del Greco, a small town near Naples and the Volcano is ever present and I’m fascinated by the history of Pompeii and Herculaneum (well the Roman empire in general – yes, I do think of them several times a day!) and I’ve always wanted to climb the volcano and look over the bay of Naples.

This year I finally got my family aligned to go for a visit and it was an amazing week (to be told in another post) but the volcano itself really is omnipresent. Everywhere you look there’s lava rock and the rich volcanic soil that generate the famous San Marzano tomatoes.

We drove up to the summit and found out that you actually need a reservation to hike to the very top. Very disappointing. We tried to get some of the day-of spots but they sold out instantly once they dropped every 10 minutes. After two days of trying to score a ticket to the summit we pivoted and decided to hike the ‘River of Lava’ a trail created when the volcano last erupted. It was a winding trail that climbed up the side of the mountain with so many wildflowers and butterflies that it was like were were in another world.

At the end of the hike through the forest the trail opened up to the river of lava itself – a vast swath of black lava rock that showed the devastation the volcano brought when it erupted in the 1940s. As I walked along the lava rocks I was surrounded by so many wildflowers it was like out of a painting. I stood at the top of the trail on an outcropping of rock and overlooked the bay of Naples – and it was one of the most beautiful natural vistas I’ve ever seen.

So while I didn’t get to summit the volcano (next time – its easier if you reserve in advance and I bet my kids would love it) I still got to hike up the side of this historic volcano and hold 2000 year old lava rocks in my hands and achieve a dream I had for a very long time.