Once we saw this place on the map we just had to know more, and had to go. It’s a beautiful narrow inlet at the base of a steep, steep, headland on the south coast of the Amalfi peninsula. The headline is there are 600+ steps down
into it, and of course, back up when you’re done. Look at the google aerial photo and you can see them zig-zagging down the headland.
We parked right in the centre of Torca and walked down through the houses to get to the path that takes you first through the woods and then down all those steps on the headland. It’s really quite lush at the top on the side of the stream that the path goes along, with olive groves on the other side.
As you head down you see a fort profiled on the other side of the, now rather fobidding, stream cutting. There are islands out in the water. The closest of these is inhabited with quite the apartment complex built over it. No doubt some member of the super-rich
elite has this as a bolt hole. Almost at the bottom of the steps and you come to a little chapel built on the ruins of a roman temple. To this point, Mrs. B. was fighting the vertigo – there really is no getting away from the perception of height and exposure as you come down. It’s more or less all over now. There are a few more steps to go, but there’s a stone bannister to keep you from falling into the water. It’s a lot less steep here, too, and the outlook is a lot less threatening, and a lot closer!
The cove itself really is worth the trip. What I hadn’t got from information prior to coming is the waterfall that drops almost free down the cliff at the back of the cove; that forbidding cutting is indeed somewhere you really don’t want to go without your climbing head on!
Built (cut, mainly) into the walls of the cove are a number of fisherman’s stores / retreats. I don’t know, but it looks rather as though one of these serves as a little cafe and toilets in the high season. Certainly if you need to go, it’s a loooong way otherwise. Sadly it was just a little too parky for a swim, even for our very Scottish daughter, but on the right day it would be just lovely. Still there were lots of priceless gems on the beach for an inquisitive toddler to collect and fill Mummy’s backpack with.
As lovely as it would be not to have to walk back the way we came, there’s nothing else for it. Daddy had been bracing himself for having said toddler on his shoulders for basically the whole ascent. Things started off pretty well, but there seemed to be a brewing issue in that she would only lead with her left leg going up the steps. Explanations and encouragement had no effect. Next was to try to get her at least to attempt leading with the other leg. If you’ve got kids, you’ll know what it’s like. They’re quite rational until you try to get them to do something specific. It doesn’t actually matter whether they were going to do it anyway or not. As soon as you want them to do it, it’s something they DON’T want to do. Anyway, all it did was cause confusion in a somewhat humorous fashion. Left leg it is then.
As it happened, she did really, really well. Encouragement wasn’t even needed until we had done well over a hundred, maybe a couple of hundred steps. The use of 300 as a milestone was enough to make it to that point under her own steam. Just think, if she’d used both legs, that would have been all the way to the top!
The next 350 were done with Dad carrying Munchkin and Mum trying not to think about the drop , trying not to look at the drop and certainly trying not to think about Munchkin perched on Daddy’s shoulders over the drop. For the passenger, with no developed sense of danger or impending doom, it was great. She thought it was all a great joke.
We made it to safe ground after a few pauses for breath and were able to stop and take in the scenery, safe in the knowledge that the drop was all behind us. Quick tromp back to the car and it was all over. What a day. If you’re in the area, I can’t recommend it highly enough. There are paths that cut across the headland too, taking you to another fort over to the right as you head down.
