The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Parco regionale dei Campi Flegrei

Lake Averno is a lake of volcanic origin located near Pozzuoli. According to myth, it is the gateway to the underworld, probably due to the sulfurous fumes that rose from it in antiquity. The lake is visited by Aeneas in the Aeneid, guided by the Sibyl, to reach the Kingdom of the Dead. Historically, in the Augustan age, it became the site, along with the nearby Lake Lucrino, of the so-called Portus Julius, a military port of which it constituted the inner basin. Subsequently abandoned due to the easy silting up of the access, it was incorporated into the Ripa Puteolana, the complex of docks of the commercial port of Puteoli. Along its shores stands the so-called "Temple of Apollo", actually a hall of a vast thermal complex, one of the numerous facilities that arose in the Phlegraean Fields to also exploit the natural heat springs.

Lake Averno is a lake of volcanic origin located near Pozzuoli, according to myth the gateway to the underworld, probably due to the sulfurous fumes that rose from it in antiquity. The lake is visited by AENEAS! in the Aeneid, guided by the Sibyl, to reach the Kingdom of the Dead. Historically, in the Augustan age, it became the site, along with the nearby Lake Lucrino, of the so-called Portus Iulius, a military port of which it constituted the inner basin. Subsequently abandoned due to the easy silting up of the access, it was incorporated into the Ripa Puteolana, the complex of docks of the commercial port of Puteoli. Along its shores stands the so-called "Temple of Apollo", actually a hall of a vast thermal complex, one of the numerous facilities that arose in the Phlegraean Fields to also exploit the natural heat sources.

stroll

I recommend parking the car in the space outside the Monte Nuovo oasis, crossing the oasis and then going down towards Lake Averno, along this lake there are farmhouses and restaurants

A walk among nature and wild animals, between dirt roads and cobblestone pavements, not to be missed in any season.

Beautiful volcanic lake with a very simple and comfortable circular tour, during which it is possible to admire local fauna and flora. I recommend it together with the circular tour of Monte Nuovo to have a view of the volcanic panorama of the Campi Flegrei area.

Everyone will wonder why it is called the “Birds’ Path”? The name is due to a rich and documented presence of different species of bird fauna, protected by the Campi Flegrei Regional Park Authority and the municipal administration of Bacoli. And then because there is a large presence of seagulls that nest and that after having fluttered over the sea, hunting for fish, return to their nests. A particular characteristic of this path is, also, the sudden transition from a Mediterranean vegetative area to a more wooded area. These are the types of plants that can be encountered: bougainvillea, broom, downy oaks, wild olive trees, holm oaks, mastic trees, euphorbia, oregano, Venus’ navel, wild leek, butcher’s broom, sarsaparilla, wallflower and asphodel.

The Sacellum of the Augustales is a Roman-era building used for the cult rites of the emperors, supervised by the Augustale priests, located in Miseno, along the coast of Bacoli, in the metropolitan city of Naples.