Valle degli Olivi

In the Regione Campania, two car-hours south of Naples, just off the coast of Calabria, lies the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano, simply called the Cilento. The name comes from the Cilento word "approximately" (round) and the river Alento. This national park is one of the youngest of Italy, it has only achieved its status in 1998. UNESCO has also designated the area as world cultural heritage. The status was granted because of the combination of pristine nature and a unique regional culture that has been preserved. This is reflected in the typical use, regional cuisine and the authentic atmosphere in the small villages. In the park are many rare plants including 75 different species of orchids some of which are unique to this area. From the little cracks in the cliffs rises the Primula Palinuri. A unique plant with small yellow flowers that bloom from February already. It is only in the Cilento for and is therefore chosen as a symbol of the park. You might just as well look for as the Edelweiss in Switzerland this plant usually grows in inaccessible places. On the coast the landscape is covered with Aleppo pines and cedars of Lebanon (brought by the Moors), rosemary bushes, lavender, wild thyme, juniper, cypress and yellow broom. The latter will in the spring for a nice light sweet fragrance. This is in contrast to the Netherlands where the scent is spicy and a little harder. What a little sun will not do. The fishermen of the Cilento recognize the arrival of spring when the gorse smell sweet light meet them at sea. On some hills the broom, rosemary, thyme and lavender planted around the year 1100 as the basis for medicine by the Medical University of Salerno who incidentally still exists. The list of natural attractions seems endless: caves along the coast, long sandy beaches, canyons with water and rapids, high mountains (Monte Cervati, 1899m) and valleys, vast forests of hazelnut trees and the typical tall, straight trees and the olivi piscottani that have been brought by the Saracens (900 AD).. In the spring a profusion of flowering plants in the fall and an abundance of mushrooms. For beach lovers are many possibilities. Along the coast you will find beautiful sandy beaches where access often, Italian to good use, to be paid. You or facilities on hand such as sunbeds, parasols and a restaurant for your drink and your meal. The resorts and Sapri Palinuro harbor in summer mainly Neapolitan families. Beyond the sandy beaches of Palinuro rise the steep cliffs of Capo Palinuro out of the water. It makes the village a natural harbor. Here lie many small mainly blue and white boats waiting for the tourists visiting the coast from the water to see. It must be said: the view from the water is spectacular. The skillful skippers the lead boat skillfully to the treacherous currents on the cliffs. You have a beautiful view of the Capo Palinuro with its numerous caves. Gulls, crows and cormorants watch from their high vantage points back. The swell does take a hearty breakfast ...