Casaletto Spartano
We are in Casaletto Spartano, a small village with just over 1,400 inhabitants, which houses one of the most beautiful naturalistic treasures of our beloved land. They are the Hair of Venus, a wonderful waterfall that comes from the waters of the Rio Bussentino, a tributary of the Bussento river whose underground path is the source of Morigera. To get there, just take the freeway that from the Buonabitacolo motorway junction takes you to Caselle in Pittari. Taking this exit you will have to travel the provincial road to Casaletto Spartano. The path, fairly simple and with little traffic, will give you a taste of the beauty of these places: tall pine trees, green flora and a dense undergrowth will be a prelude to the show that awaits you.
Following the road signs, or perhaps asking the old men in the village, getting to the hair falls of the Venus hair will not be difficult at all. The waterfalls build a play of lights, refractions and flashes with water, moss and steam. The show is truly almost unique and we are sure that you will be enchanted for a while. If you happen on a hot summer day, we recommend a bit of refreshment under the waterfall whose waters, we tell you right away, are at a temperature of about 6-8 degrees. Between slightly slippery rocks and a few flowers of water here and there, you will find yourself in contact with a luxuriant and bright green nature even in the height of summer. Yes, because this is one of the most humid places in Cilento and it is not surprising to find real moss cushions along the bed of the Rio Bussentino, or on the branches of the trees that touch the water. The path to take may be quite long and very short, it’s up to you to choose. You can go up the stairs protected by the fence to get up to the source, or stay on the path and get to the oasis equipped area for a quick packed lunch near the mill in use until the 1950s. We definitely recommend that you stay a little on the beach that the water created shortly after the largest waterfall in the river. Here the temperature is slightly lower because the vegetation is more dense and the sunlight passes with greater difficulty. The more adventurous among you will be able to walk the river by walking in his bed, finding a way to ignore the cold water that will seem to freeze your legs at times. You will discover hidden ravines, small waterfalls that merge between foliage and pebbles, colorful flowers and dragonflies with gigantic proportions. You will find someone asleep along the shore who will have soaked a giant watermelon and a few bottles of beer. You will wake him up with your cackling (frost in the legs causes these effects) and a little annoyed he will look at you sideways as if to go screaming further. Certainly a visit to the Hair of Venus is a must for anyone who comes to Cilento and wants to spend a different day than the one on the beach. It doesn’t matter that you come there even in winter: you certainly cannot swim, but the water show is still guaranteed. A place that enchants first the soul and then the eyes, and Venus does not only have hair, but all the beauty of the most hidden and mysterious Cilento.