Etna 3000 Excursion
on the way & ON THE WAY BACK
The tour starts from the Rifugio Sapienza area (altitude 1900 meters), we will first take the cable car up to 2500 meters. Then we will make trekking towards the places of the most recent eruptions and walk on the lava flow that partially destroyed the tourist area during the great eruption of 2002/2003.
We will continue the ascent and go up the west side of the Barbagallo craters (eruption 2002/2003) reaching quota 2830 meters; after having descended the hill, we will begin to see the summit craters in front of us in all their grandeur, so we will continue in the direction of the very recent lava flows from recent years (the last of which poured out on February 21, 2022).
We will coast along it to go up to about 2910 meters, and we will reach the fracture that still produces heat, and then the area of "Torre del Filosofo " , here we will make a break for lunch.
After the stop we will continue to walk on the edge of the Barbagallo craters and subsequently, after having covered the perimeter, we will begin to descend along the predominantly sandy slope until we will find a lava flow channel (a canyon formed by lava) and we will go inside,, then we will continue the descent in an easterly direction until we reach the viewpoint of the suggestive "Valle del Bove" (ancient caldera originating from the collapse of the old eruptive centers of Etna) after this stop we will continue in the direction of the lateral crater formed during the 2001 eruption.
We will conclude the descent to the cable car, which will take we back to the starting point.
DETAILS:
APPOINTMENT around 9.00 am on the south side of Etna (Rifugio Sapienza)
DURATION: the round trip is around 4/5 hours (but it depends on various factors, such as pace, stops, etc.)
DIFFICULTY: medium physical effort, but you need to have a minimum aptitude for walking on uneven ground (such as volcanic sand) with an uphill slope in certain sections
But the pace will be slow and there will be many breaks to recover from looking at the surrounding landscapes.
PRICE: 100 euros per person
The price includes the following:
Cable car ticket (round trip)
Alpine / volcanological guide (compulsory to exceed an altitude of 2800 meters)
Any necessary equipment (trekking shoes, windbreaker, etc.)
Protective helmet (mandatory)
Insurance.
warnings
Note that the excursion itinerary described below takes into account the civil protection ordinances which sometimes limit access to higher altitudes for safety reasons.
Consequently, the excursion could change based on the volcanic risk detected by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Any changes will be communicated the day before the excursion.
NOT RECOMMENDED: for those suffering from vertigo, for those who lead a purely sedentary life
FORBIDDEN: to anyone suffering from cardiovascular problems.
FORBIDDEN: to Pregnant women.
FORBIDDEN: to Children under ten years old