Many caves along the coastal stretch from the port of Marina di Camerota to the Bay of the Infreschi Nature Reserve are testimony that the first local families found shelter here, over half a million years ago.

The coast is known for its many interesting caves, about 100, some of which can only be reached by sea and others, that open over the cliffs, through trails, sometimes impervious. Between them some romantic and hidden coves can be found.

Imagine leaving Marina di Camerota and sailing along the Levante slope, after the Lentiscelle beach, you’ll find Grotta della Serratura, so called for the form of the entrance that faithfully reproduces a keyhole.

Along the peninsula of Zancale, which gives its name to the homonymous cave, Cala del Zancale, in fact, opens the Grotta degli Innamorati …

The old sailors say that when a couple who wanted to stay together were obstructed by their parents, they would escape, taking refuge in the first habitable caves that they find by the sea: this cave, precisely. On their return home, families were so compelled to celebrate the “repairer” wedding!

Continue until you reach the Grotta of Cala Fortuna, also known as the Grotta Azzurra. Its name comes from the fact that fishing here with the net is always very fruitful.

Surrounded by the three moonlit chariots, you enter the Cala Montediluna.

There are two hypotheses about the origin of its name.

The first is linked to the impression that you are looking from the country to this point, so it seems that the moon rises from the mountain of the same name that overwhelms the desert.

The second hypothesizes that, by looking away from the distance, the moon seems to be carved in the rock.

In the following section, at Cala Magnosa, where the cliff is lowered, the Grotta della Cattedrale, full of white stalactites and the Grotta of Pozzallo, whose name is inspired by the presence of a natural well.

You must still sail for a short while before seeing the Grotta della Madonna (or Santa Maria), with columns and white-red walls. Inside there is a rock that gives the impression of the praying Virgin.

Along the same slope there is the San Taddeo Grotto, which seems faithfully reproduced the image of the saint.

We are still pointing to this rock wall, and, like magic, here comes the Grotta delle Noglie, a term that in local dialect means salami, given because of the very wide entrance. There have been lithic findings here, such as a fishing hook from the Neolithic period (about 8,000 BC) and ceramics attributed to the Bronze Age (circa 2000 BC).

In the middle of the bay, entering the protected area of ​​the coast of the Infreschi, known by the ancient Romans who supplied fresh water from a natural well, you will notice a crack in the limestone: this is the Grotta degli Infreschi, Whose name comes back to the freshness that is in it, due to the presence of this source.

Still miraculously immune to human settlements, the Natural Port of Infreschi is one of the most impressive sites of the entire coastal Cilento.

Here’s a corner of paradise, which opens in a natural harbor, a destination of many boaters during the summer season, protected by rock benches against which the sparkling waves of an incredibly blue sea break.

In the waters of this beautiful bay, dolphins can often be seen, attracted by the extraordinary abundance of blue fish.

Costa degli Infreschi is considered the sea jewel of the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano, also awarded the title of Unesco World Heritage.

Cala Bianca is a wonderful corner of paradise in the heart of the Cilento and a top-tier shotgun Palinuro and the Punta degli Infreschi. Elected the “most beautiful beach in Italy” in 2013, through a contest launched by Legambiente on the web and titled “The Most Beautiful Is You”. Cala is a white oasis, inscribed between two spurs of Verdant rock and licked by a crystalline sea, usually of light blue color; sometimes intense blue (depending on the time of day and the sun’s position). The beach is made up of small rounded pebbles of white color, ending with the name of the place itself. Surely, for those who love swimming this is the ideal place. A swim in the waters of Cala Bianca is a regenerating experience and, in some ways, surprising: at some points the water is warmer because of some fresh water springs in the area.