Acqua del Milo, direct ascent Vena Longa, Pistillo and Croce della Conocchia

Premise

This route was traveled on April 16, 2025, and all subsequent observations and considerations fully apply only for that day.

↓

From Santa Maria del Castello to the bed of Vallone Acqua del Milo

From the parking lot near the Church of Santa Maria del Castello, go back about 500 meters on asphalt and take the turnoff for Agriturismo La Sorgente del Melo.

Just before the main building of the agriturismo on the right, there is a stepped path that goes around it from above, ascending and then descending among animal enclosures, finally passing next to a small equipped playground for children.

Then you immediately enter a small wood where a clear path appears leading toward the entrance of Vallone Acqua del Milo.

At first, I saw some construction tape and after a stretch regular red dots appeared.

You enter Vallone Acqua del Milo and continue with a long traverse, high above the stream bed, always on the hydrographic left among sparse vegetation.

Then you enter a small wood shortly before a hairpin turn, preceded by easy rocks, which rounds the bottom of a channel.

Next, the trail makes an arc around a rock formation and continues across until reaching the bed of Vallone Acqua del Milo above a waterfall.

In the last part, the trail on the ground is less evident, and you must pay attention to the many small red dots present.

Immediately upstream of the waterfall, on the right, there is a kind of old wooden bench of unknown purpose.

With the little water present today, I easily continued in the bed among wide, flat rock slabs (although slippery) up to another drop downstream with a small waterfall, stopping a few meters before because the last slabs were mossy and very wet, risking "taking a bad fall on the ground."

↓

Direct ascent from the bed of Vallone Acqua del Milo to the ridge of Vena Longa

For the "attempt" of direct ascent from the bed of Vallone Acqua del Milo to the ridge of Vena Longa, I tried to maintain a base direction identified on slope maps.

The slope is wooded, and from below you cannot get an idea of the general lines to follow.

According to slope maps, one can always keep within 45 degrees, and the steep sections are rather short.

However, slope maps are calculated/drawn on averages of segments of variable length.

So a stretch, for example, even of only 30 degrees can be composed of a vertical or almost vertical leap preceded or followed by a flat section.

In short ... you have to play it by sight.

******************************

To begin the ascent, I went back to the old bench near the first waterfall: here, just upstream of the bench, on the hydrographic left slope, there is an animal trail going up with easy steps.

Soon you reach a leap of rocks of grade II.

Moving a few meters to the left at the base of the leap, there is a stepped crack where the hands barely rest to climb.

Then you reach a clearing still with a continuation of the trail, which then ends upon reentering the woods.

Here, I continued diagonally roughly southeast, adapting to the "islands of brambles" (all bypassable) and the inevitable individual fallen trees.

I continued to climb using some brief trails compacted by animals and keeping an eye on the rock bands glimpsed higher up between the trees.

Thus, I reached a rock band, not very high but almost vertical, just on the left in the direction of ascent of a secondary channel-valley.

On the right of the channel, I noticed a "yielding" of verticality, crossed it, and still climbed a nice "steep slope" helping myself with shrubs.

After the "steep slope," I noticed (among sparser woods) a diagonal slope towards southwest ending roughly below a very high rock band.

I always followed this direction by eye among discontinuous traces down to the rock band where I found a comfortable ledge, very wet from dripping but wide and walkable without issues towards right-west (left-east ends almost immediately).

Continuing right-west, the easy ledge rounds a corner and enters a large basin with sparse vegetation.

Here there is no longer a single ledge line, but the basin is not hard to bypass.

I was a little lower than the base of the rock band to follow some "grassy lines," even losing a bit of altitude at the beginning, but this basin can be interpreted in many ways.

At the end, you exit above the large ridge of Vena Longa slightly above a large power line pylon.

I emphasize what I wrote at the beginning: this is only my interpretation of the day, and everyone must find their own way each time.

The views during the ascent are almost always on very short distances, and I practically could not take clarifying photos until the comfortable final ledge.

↓

Conclusion of this version of the excursion from Vena Longa

As already mentioned, the excursion can be closed in many ways.

Today, from the arrival point on the ridge of Vena Longa, I climbed the easy trail-ledge that passes through Pistillo up to the junction with CAI 300 of the Alta Via dei Monti Lattari.

Then, still on CAI 300, a round trip to Croce della Conocchia, descent to the Forest Barracks, and return to Santa Maria del Castello.

Returning in the early afternoon to Santa Maria del Castello, with good weather, there is excellent light and a visit to the well-known viewpoint above Positano is practically mandatory.

Today, however, I did not go because the sky was overcast and I already knew the fantastic view.