Cammino Materano: the walk from Bari to the Sassi of Matera
You start at the doors of the Basilica di San Nicola, with the Adriatic at your back, and a week later you walk into a city carved out of a ravine. In between are olive plains, the stony emptiness of the Alta Murgia, two cathedrals and a lot of dry-stone wall. The route is graded easy, and for five days it is. Then it hands you two thirty-kilometre days rated hard, and that is the part nobody warns you about.
What the Cammino Materano actually is
The name covers a network, not a single path. Six waymarked ways now feed into it from across Puglia, Basilicata and Molise, and five of the six converge on Matera. The one almost everybody means, and the one this page is about, is the Via Peuceta: Bari to Matera, 168 km, seven stages, graded easy. It is the oldest arm, the best signed, and the sensible choice for a first cammino in the south.
| Way | Route | Distance | Days | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Via Peuceta | Bari to Matera | 168 km | 7 | Easy |
| Via Ellenica | Alberobello to Matera | 170 km | 8 | Medium |
| Via Ellenica, variant | Brindisi to Alberobello | 137 km | 6 | Easy |
| Via Lucana | Albano di Lucania to Matera | 136 km | 7 | Medium |
| Via Sveva | Trani to Matera | 200 km | 8 | Medium |
| Via Jonica | Manduria to Taranto | 215 km | 5 | Easy |
| Via Dauna | Termoli to Matera | 400 km | 22 | Medium |
Figures from the Cammino Materano association's own route pages, read in August 2026. Its distances and its prose do not always agree with each other: the Via Peuceta page heads with 170 km while the data panel says 168 km, and the seven published stages add up to 168.5 km. We have used the panel figure throughout.
The Via Peuceta leaves Bari through the olive plain, climbs onto the Murgia plateau and then drops into the karst gorges, the lame and gravine, that give both Gravina in Puglia and Matera their cave-riddled cliffs. The association counts 32 sites of interest along it. What that means on the ground is that you pass through working towns rather than resorts: Gravina, Altamura, Santeramo in Colle, Cassano delle Murge, Bitetto. Nobody is there for you, which is most of the appeal.
The seven stages, and where they bite
Here is the honest shape of the week. Five gentle-to-moderate days, then a sting in the tail: the last two stages are both close to 30 km and both graded difficult by the association itself, and they come when your feet are already six days old. If you have a spare day, put it before Gravina, not after Bari.
| Stage | From and to | Distance | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bari to Bitetto, by Modugno | 16.8 km | Easy |
| 2 | Bitetto to Cassano delle Murge | 26.2 km | Easy |
| 3 | Cassano delle Murge to Santeramo in Colle | 22.5 km | Easy |
| 4 | Santeramo in Colle to Altamura | 23.4 km | Medium |
| 5 | Altamura to Gravina in Puglia | 20 km | Easy |
| 6 | Gravina in Puglia to Picciano | 29.9 km | Hard |
| 7 | Picciano to Matera | 29.7 km | Hard |
Stage distances as published by the Cammino Materano association, August 2026. They total 168.5 km.
Stage 1: out of Bari
The shortest day, and the only urban one. You leave from the basilica that holds the relics of Saint Nicholas, cross Modugno and are among olives within the hour.
Stage 4: Altamura
You arrive at a cathedral founded by Frederick II in 1232, in a town whose bread carries its own protected designation. Buy a quarter loaf. It keeps for days and it will get you over the Murgia.
Stage 7: into the Sassi
The last descent gives you Matera the way it was meant to be seen, on foot and from above. If you have only ever arrived by car, this is a different city. See our Matera day trip guide for what to do once you stop walking.
When to walk it
The association lists the season as autumn, winter and spring. That is not a typo, and it is worth taking literally: summer is not on the list at all. The Murgia is a limestone plateau with almost no shade and very few water points, and in July and August it regularly sits between 35 and 40°C. Two 30 km days in that is not an endurance test, it is a bad idea.
The sweet spots
April to early June, and mid-September to November. Long light, warm days, cold enough at night to sleep. Wildflowers on the Murgia in April and May are the reason to pick spring over autumn.
Winter, honestly
Walkable, and quiet, but the days are short for two 30 km stages and some of the smaller guesthouses close. Split the last two stages if you go between December and February. More on the seasons in our best time to visit Puglia guide.
The credential, and the twenty-day catch
This is the part that catches people flying in from abroad, and it is the single most useful thing on this page. The pilgrim credential is not a souvenir. It is what gets you the capped prices at the guesthouses in the cammino's own network, and it is what you present to collect your Testimonium at the end. And you cannot pick it up on the day.
| What it is | A passport-style booklet you get stamped, with a sigillum, at each stage |
|---|---|
| How to get one | Fill in the association's online form and make a free donation. The cammino takes no public funding |
| How long it takes | Ask at least 20 days before you set off if you want it posted. It is only sent once both the form and the donation are in |
| The alternative | Collect it by hand at an official distribution point, which you have to name in the form's notes field |
| What it earns you | The capped rates at network guesthouses, and the Testimonium at Matera, Bari or Brindisi, on at least 100 km walked or 150 km cycled |
Terms from the association's credential page, read in August 2026.
Waymarking, tracks and getting out
The Via Peuceta is the best-signed way of the network, and it is walkable independently: follow the signs, carry the official GPX track and book the smaller guesthouses ahead in spring and autumn. One quiet advantage nobody mentions: the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane railway shadows the route almost the whole way. Its stations include Bari Centrale, Modugno, Toritto, Altamura, Gravina and Matera Centrale, so if a day goes wrong, or the heat wins, you are rarely far from a train back. It is also how you get home at the end, since the same line runs Matera to Bari.
Route changes to know about before you go
Cammini move. Two stretches of the Via Peuceta were altered by roadworks and the association has published workarounds for both. Check its news page before you leave, because this section will date.
Stage 1: the Santa Caterina works
In a notice dated 24 March 2026, the association warned that works on strada Santa Caterina, shortly before the Ipercoop, make the walk out of Bari awkward and unsafe. Its advice is to start from Bari station instead, take the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane train to Modugno and pick up the route there.
Stage 5: the Altamura underpass
Since 1 September 2025 a roundabout has been under construction at the concrete underpass just outside Altamura. There is a signed detour that adds only about 300 m. The catch: it is temporary, so it has deliberately not been added to the downloadable GPX. Follow the stickers on the ground, not the track on your phone.
One more thing to check if you plan to use the train as a bail-out or as the stage 1 workaround: Ferrovie Appulo Lucane ran replacement buses between Bari Centrale and Grumo Appula through late August 2026 while its own line was being worked on. Its service notices are the place to look.
Walking it with help
Plenty of people walk the Via Peuceta independently and it is set up for that. If you would rather have the beds booked and your bag moved, or you only want a day or two of it, these are the kinds of things worth looking at. Live availability comes via GetYourGuide.
Cammino Materano: FAQ
How long does the Cammino Materano take?
The Via Peuceta from Bari to Matera is 168 km in seven stages, so a week of walking plus travel at each end. Days run from 16.8 km to 29.9 km. If you would rather not do two consecutive 30 km days at the finish, add a night at Gravina in Puglia and split the last stretch, which turns it into a comfortable nine-day trip.
Do I really need a pilgrim credential?
You can walk without one, but you give up two things: the capped rates at the guesthouses in the cammino's own network, and the Testimonium at the end, which needs at least 100 km on foot or 150 km by bike. Request it through the association's online form with a free donation, and if you want it posted, allow at least 20 days before you travel.
Is it a hard walk?
The route as a whole is graded easy and there is no real climbing, but the grading hides the shape of it. The first five stages are easy to medium and 17 to 26 km. The last two are 29.9 km and 29.7 km and the association grades both difficult. The difficulty here is distance, heat and exposure rather than terrain.
Which way of the Cammino Materano should a first-timer pick?
The Via Peuceta. It is the best waymarked of the six ways, it is the only one graded easy that ends in Matera, and at seven stages it fits a week. The Via Ellenica from Alberobello is the obvious second, at 170 km in eight stages, but it is graded medium and crosses the harder gorge country of the Terra delle Gravine.
How do I get back to Bari from Matera?
By the Ferrovie Appulo Lucane line, which runs from Matera Centrale to Bari Centrale by way of Gravina, Altamura and Modugno. It is the same line that shadows the walking route, which is what makes it a useful escape hatch mid-week too. Check its service notices before you count on it, as stretches close for engineering work.
Related: The cammini of Puglia · Gravina in Puglia · Bari · Matera day trip · Best time to visit Puglia
I grew up in the province of Brindisi and spent 30 years in Puglia. The Murgia in August and the Murgia in April are two different places, and only one of them is a holiday. Distances, gradings, credential terms and the route notices above are taken from the Cammino Materano association's own pages and checked in August 2026. Cammini change, so check its news page before you go. More about who is behind this guide