Vallone Acqua del Milo from Vena Longa, Molare and Croce della Conocchia

Introduction

This route was traveled on April 20, 2025, and all subsequent observations and considerations may only fully apply to that day.

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From Santa Maria del Castello to the start of the detour in the Vallone Acqua del Milo from the Vena Longa

From the parking near the Church of Santa Maria del Castello, go back about 500 meters on asphalt and take the detour to the Agriturismo La Ginestra.

The small path that continues directly to Punta Medico and Vena Longa continues after the marked parking lot of Agriturismo La Ginestra, but currently there is a gate locked with a padlock that prevents direct access.

Therefore, it is advisable to turn onto the small road just below that of Agriturismo La Ginestra, and after a little more than 150 meters on the right, a small path (initially cemented) branches off climbing a series of terraces.

After the first terrace cultivated as a vegetable garden, you can cut right on grass and reach the small path that continues after the closed gate mentioned above.

Now follow the small path (unmarked) always with a good slope up to Punta Medico: at times you can see multiple tracks, but everything is very logical.

After Punta Medico, a small memorial Cross is encountered and, on a low slope ridge, you arrive under the west ridge of the main rock body of the Conocchia.

A little further on the right, the Pistillo is clearly visible, but for this hike, go to the left of the ridge to enter the Vallone Acqua del Milo.

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Ascent of Vallone Acqua del Milo from the base of the west ridge of the main rock body of the Conocchia

From today's exit point from the ridge-crest of the Vena Longa (you can exit a little earlier too), I lost a few meters to reach the base of the rock band where I immediately found a trail-path.

The small path continues comfortably moving away from the base of the rock band, and I arrived at a section of sparse vegetation more confused where the track disappeared.

Here I climbed back on the steepest slope again at the base of the rocks where I found a comfortable ledge-like walkway.

After going around a rib, the walkway-ledge reaches a series of narrowings and small interruptions not very pleasant, and I descended for a few easy steps with spring water on the slope below in sparse woods.

From here, I crossed an easy gully finding another section of walkway-ledge "almost comfortable" which led me to the edge of another gully with vertical and unstable sides: gully not passable at that point.

Going back a few meters (I erased this unnecessary and misleading back and forth from the GPS recording), I found a stepped crevice in the low rock band above that section: the steps seemed so regular I suspect "the hand of man".

Anyway, after the steps, I climbed on the steepest slope beside the gully up to the head: for crossing, you need to go down a few meters along a trail inside a sort of small basin, and then pass to the other side finding a more evident walkway under the rock band.

Now you need attention to identify the start of the final path which is on the other side of the main channel of the Vallone Acqua del Milo.

Looking from the other side, two channel-gullies interrupt the vertical faces of the head of Vallone Acqua del Milo – the right one (visible since the start of the detour from Vena Longa) continues almost straight above the main Vallone Acqua del Milo, but you have to aim for the left one.

The "almost ledge track" you are following points directly to the right channel and must be abandoned before some difficult discontinuities.

So, go down on acceptable slopes to the bottom of Vallone Acqua del Milo and position yourself under the right channel, then cut left in diagonal ascent on very graspable rocks with passages where you squeeze your whole body between one rock and another.

After the first diagonal to the left, I returned to the right still among easy rocks, up to a drop of some meters that seemed the easiest and most logical point to continue.

Here I climbed with a couple of holds of max I° grade up to a small tree with a white plastic strip wrapped around the base of the trunk.

I don't know if the white plastic is to be understood as a marker left by someone or if it was there by chance, but anyway today it was in the right place.

After this jump, there is a wide path among grass and small rocks, probably also frequented by goats and wild boars, that leads under a notch on the right of a beautiful slab.

You climb back on the slab – with a beautiful direct view of Capri 📸 – and go up among countless and solid holds: here I tried to measure the slope with the cellphone clinometer which indicated about 40° on average.

The slab is very regular and the average slope is practically also the maximum.

After the beautiful slab there remains a last stretch mostly grassy basin to reach the CAI 338 small road.

Here I did not follow the shortest exit route but continued turning right to reach CAI 338 exactly at the crossing point where the detour (always marked CAI) starts leading towards Roccia Elefante.

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End of the hike from the exit point at the head of Vallone Acqua del Milo

After crossing CAI 338, I continued to the pass where the characteristic Roccia Elefante is located.

From the pass, always on a marked trail, I reconnected to CAI 300 Alta Via dei Monti Lattari at an intermediate point between Croce della Conocchia and Monte San Michele or Molare.

With today's excellent spring day, a visit to Molare was practically mandatory before descending to Croce della Conocchia.

From Croce della Conocchia there are three main options to return to Santa Maria del Castello: 1) the Pistillo ledge-path more to the north; 2) CAI 300 via the Forestry Barracks more to the south; 3) another nice path (whose name I do not know) running halfway between the first two and detaching from CAI 300 at a small viewpoint platform above Positano.

I chose the last variant with rare red non-CAI markers.

Today I found the path always evident and probably recently mowed because the few sections among denser shrubs had good passing corridors.

Finally, on the return to Santa Maria del Castello, I also took the detour to the well-known and marked viewpoint over Positano.