Lava River

From Herculaneum starts the exciting walk featuring the lava flow to San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, dating back to the time of World War II. A plunge into history, an almost lunar landscape, a beauty more unique than rare. The route, also suitable for school groups, starts near the Vesuvius Observatory, and it is therefore also possible to combine a visit to the museum, attached to the structure, which displays ancient scientific instruments and houses a permanent exhibition on the fascinating world of volcanoes.  As soon as we take the path, we proceed downhill, plunging into a broadleaf forest and then into a narrow passage on the walls of which pumice from 79 A.D. is evident, until we reach a widening, the meeting point with path No. 8, where there is a well from the Bourbon era for collecting rainwater and a beautiful specimen of elderberry is observed. Resuming the path, after an initial uphill section, the pavement becomes flat. The undergrowth is enriched with essences such as euphorbia, ivy, and wild rose, and in spring you can also see some brightly colored orchid species. Climbing a small step, one is enchanted by the explosion of colors of the Mediterranean scrub along the stretch leading to the ?river of lava?, dating back to 1944 and colonized by the pioneer lichen Stereocaulon vesuvianum, which gives it a typical silvery-gray coloration. On the left, a rocky outcrop juts out toward Naples: the view takes in the Neapolitan gulf with its islands and the bare slopes of Vesuvius and those of the Cognoli di Giacca and Trocchia di Trocchia of Monte Somma. For the return journey, the outward path is followed in reverse, the route destination coinciding with the starting point.