Up To The Top Of The Mighty Mount Vesuvius!!

Not many people think to go to the top of Mount Vesuvius.  Would it be tempting fate for another eruption?   Perhaps it's just too darn cold up there!!!  Mount Vesuvius has been an Italian National Park since 1995 and offers stunning views from the summit.

   

After our lunch near the Ercolano train station, we purchased our tickets to take the bus up to the famous volcano itself.  We bought our tickets from a company called Vesuvio Express which was located in the small Piazzale outside the train station.  Click:  Vesuvio Express  to go to the website for up to date info.  The tickets for the bus were €13 each (students get a discount) and cheaper in the offseason.  In addition to this, you had to pay another €10 for the National Park entrance fee.  The park fees go towards maintaining the park roads, trails and such.  Remember, if you go with your own transportation to Mount Vesuvius you must pay for the parking lot.  Don't park on the roadway-you're sure to get a ticket :(

This Boulder Was Spit Up From Vesuvio!

It was time to head up the mountain.  TIP #1: CHECK OPENING HOURS OF THE PARK.   At 3:00, we were the last tour group to go up to the volcano that day. The National Park closes at 5pm in the shoulder season.  The park can also close at any moment during inclement weather, and you don't get your shuttle bus ticket refunded. For this reason, I would not recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time.
Our driver was a young man named Cheeto.  There were not enough people to fit into the 25 seat bus; so 8 of us plus Cheeto, piled into a minivan. Cheeto was an amazing driver really, he navigated the chaotic streets filled with busy Italian drivers as we went up and up the super twisty roads. The city road turned into a hair-raising one lane road as we went up past small farms and vineyards clinging to the side of the mountain. We continued up the hairpin turns driving into the National Park and through the lava fields of the 1944 eruption of Mount Vesuvius; the last time Vesuvius blew up. TIP #2: IF YOU GET MOTION SICK TAKE YOUR GRAVOL BEFORE THIS TRIP.   Being in the back of that minivan was like being on a roller coaster ride!

Peering Into The Cone

Arriving at the parking lot, Cheeto told us we had 90 minutes to explore the park before we meet him back in the parking lot.  Last chance to use the WC! We walked from the National Park gates along a gravel trail of switchbacks that went uphill for about 30 minutes.TIP #3:  WEAR STURDY SHOES & BRING A COAT.  It is pretty cold up there!  The elevation gain from the parking lot to the summit is about 950 feet. 

You can sing the "Funiculi, Funicula" song here because it is a Neopolitan song about the funicular that used to bring 300 people a day up to the summit back in the late 1800's.  The funicular was in business even through 3 eruptions during the early 1900's!   It was finally shut down for good with the big eruption in 1944.   On second thought, maybe just keep the singing to inside your head; you don't want to be thrown into the volcano as a sacrifice!

The views of the bay of Naples all the way from Napoli to Sorrento were amazing and you can see the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum below you. It's a bit eerie.

Lacryma Christi Local Wine

Once at the top of Vesuvius, you can walk along the crater of the only active volcano in mainland Europe. We looked down into the cone and could see actual steam escaping through small vents in several places; meaning Mount Vesuvius is not dormant, it's just slumbering!  If Vesuvius were to erupt again (and it will), it's frightening to think there are 3 million people that would need evacuation below us.   There is actually an elaborate evacuation plan for those who live in the "Zona Rosso" or Red Zone of the Volcano, and it would take one week to evacuate about half of those people. 

This Sign Never Gets Old 😂

We had wanted to walk all the way around the crater, but it seems you needed to be accompanied by a National Park guide to do that. We saw a group with a guide come off the crater trail, but we had no idea how these people booked their trek.  The trail going around the cone does look a bit more intimidating, and sturdier shoes and hiking poles would make it easier on the super narrow gravel path.

Instead, we settled for a glass of the famous local wine grown on the fertile slopes of Mount Vesuvius: Lacryma Cristi which literally means "The tears of Christ". For €3  we got a glass of the red and a glass of the delicious white and just took in the gorgeous view. It tasted like...more!  But I still had to manage walking down the path to the parking lot!  We do regret not getting a bottle to take home that night.  For me, it was a trip highlight to drink this famous wine on top of the legendary Vesuvio.  The last sip of wine was offered into the crater as a libation to the Roman God Bacchus.

Sunset Over The Bay Of Naples From Vesuvius

We (ok, just I ) stumbled down the black lava path carved into the slopes of Mount V as the sun started to set; tipsy from the wine and the amazing experience. Making our way back to Marina Grande in Sorrento, via our beloved rickety train the CircumVesuvianna.  We went over to the "Deco" market in Marina Grande to get our dinner groceries and struck up a conversation with the young man at the store.

His name is Simone and his family owns the store. Simone speaks really great English and he helped us with our wine selections and beer suggestions.  I told him about the Lacryma Christi wine and he saw how excited I got, so he told me to come back tomorrow and he would have a local Sorrentine wine for me.  He recommended a great craft beer to Luke from Sardinia called Ichnusa.  This beer is named after the Latin name for Sardinia: Hyknusa.  Luke thought it was a nice beer with a good hoppy taste.  He's aaaallll about the hops!
We told Simone our plan of going to Naples the following day. He recommended some places for us to see in Naples and some food specialities not to be missed-especially his favourite pastry treat: Sfogliatelle. I told Simone I would be on a mission to find the best Sfogliatelle in all of Naples and bring one back to him.  "Sure" he laughed and bid us a Buonanotte!
OK Simone, challenge excepted :)