Trekking to the Craters of Mount Etna
Duration: 5 hours
Difficulty: Medium-high (EE)
Period: From April to October
Luxury Transfer Option: Transfer from our facility to the meeting point €35 per person (Free for children up to 3 years old). The recommended minimum age for children is over 8 years.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Excursions are subject to regulations by civil authorities, so the maximum altitude achievable may change. The current maximum altitude achievable is 2750 m above sea level, near the crater of the latest volcanic activities.
Meeting Point: Bar Esagonal, Piazzale Funivia, near Rifugio Sapienza.
Gathering: 10:00 AM, receive equipment, complete administrative tasks, get the latest information from the INGV vulcanology bulletin in Catania, receive tickets, and meet with the volcanology guide or mountain guide. Our excursion to the summit craters of Mount Etna, the highest volcano in Europe, begins.
Departure: 10:30 AM. The departure time may vary due to the forecasts of the volcanological and civil protection bulletins. Any changes will be communicated in the morning by our guides.
From the meeting point, we will take the new Etna cable car to reach an altitude of 2500 m. Here, our trekking will begin, allowing us to traverse the lunar landscape formed by recent lava flows emitted during winter and spring 2021, to reach the area of the small explosive cone of the 1971 eruption, which disappeared under the lava flows of 2021. From here, the trek to the main crater of Mount Etna will begin. We will admire the extraordinary spectacle offered by the highest volcano in Europe, peeking inside the central crater. We will then proceed to a crater terrace to admire the Bocca Nuova crater, the South-East Crater, and the North-East Crater. From this point, if weather conditions allow, we will be able to see Calabria, the Aeolian Islands, the mountains and the interior of Sicily, and the entire eastern coast of Sicily. We will descend along the side of the crater to skirt the still smoking lava flows of 2021, then cross them to reach the lava flow channel of October 2002. Next, we will explore the fumaroles of the effusive crater of October 2002. We will then cross more magical lunar landscapes to look out over the Belvedere of the Valle del Bove, alongside the 2021 lavas. This is an extraordinary caldera belonging to ancient eruptive centers. Skirting the imposing eruptive cone of the "Laghetto" Crater, we will reach the terminal of the Cable Car, which will comfortably take us back to the starting point. It will be a journey through geology and volcanology, admiring the active craters of Bocca Nuova, Voragine, North-East Crater, and South-East Crater. Due to its challenging nature, the excursion to the summit craters of Mount Etna is recommended for people accustomed to demanding routes and is categorically not recommended for heart patients and untrained individuals.
