With this full-day excursion of Etna and Alcantara Gorges Dream Island will make you discover two of the most splendid landscapes of Sicily: Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe and the Alcantara Gorges.
Etna and Alcantara gorge
This excursion Etna and Alcantara gorges will start in an SUV or minivan (up to 8 people) with an out of the way up to the lava front of 2002, through the Pineta Ragabo. Then it proceeds to the starting point of the trek and our excursion will continue by foot. It will start at an altitude of 1650 meters and will reach an altitude of 1700 meters. We will walk along easy paths between birch trees and then the lateral button craters called Craters Sartorius on the north-east side of Etna. Once at the top we will reach some panoramic points from which you can admire the Ionian Sea and the mountain chains of the Nebrodi and Peloritani. Before starting the descent, we will visit, the thieves’ cave, a lava flow tunnel where, equipped with helmets and torches, we will go inside to discover its formation and its history.
We will stop in a mountain chalet for lunch (not included in the price).
SECOND PART OF THE TOUR
After lunch, crossing Castiglione di Sicilia, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, we will reach the Alcantara Gorges located in the Alcantara valley (also called Larderia gorges) where the mountain ranges of Peloritani ends, in the Municipalities of Castiglione di Sicilia and Motta Camastra (one of the places where the Godfather was filmed).
The Alcantara river
flows between lava stone which forms its characteristic riverbed 6 km long and easily accessible for 3 km. The beauty of this gorge consists in the structure of the walls, created by basaltic lava flows (poor in silicon but rich in iron, magnesium and calcium). The lava then cooled very quickly creating pentagonal and hexagonal prismatic forms, which recall the molecular structure of the materials that make it up. During this easy excursion you will be accompanied by our expert guides.