Etna and Alcantara Tour from Taormina

This Etna and Alcantara tour from Taormina begins with the pick up at the hotel.

After being picked up you will head for Rifugio Sapienza, stopping in certain view points on the way up. The guide will give you all the information you need about the history and the territory of the volcano and you will visit the sites of the last eruptions and the old Silvestri Craters.

From Rifugio Sapienza you can choose one of the following options:

• Do some trekking in one of the nature paths of “Parco dell’Etna”, up to 2000 m.
• Buy the Etna high altitude option: from Rifugio Sapienza you will take the cable car and reach, in 15 minutes, 2504 meters. From here you will continue with special 4x4 minibuses and reach, in 20 minutes, 2900 meters (Torre del Filosofo). You will find your self in front of a scenery stretching right down to the sea. Here it will be possible to admire the great central crater, the South-East crater and the historical lava flows that characterize the landscape of Etna. With the alpinist guides you will visit the places where the life of the volcano flourishes, in full safety. You will return to Rifugio Sapienza by minibus and cable car.

The excursion will continue with the visit of a lava cave with helmets and torches.

The next stop, on the way down,will be Zafferana, where you will visit one of the most famous organic farms for a delicious sampling of typical products such as honey, wine, oil etc. 

The tour will continue with the visit of Alcantara.

The excursion to Alcantara River will allow you to discover all the various aspects of this very particular water stream. Walking down the small paths along the cultivated fields, the so-called “delizi”, you will reach the river, where it will be possible to admire the Gurne, natural pools created by the running water, small lakes and waterfalls surrounded by a beautiful riparian vegetation. A walk through nature, history and tradition, where the ruins of the Francavilla Castle can be observed.

You will continue by visiting the gorges: canyons formed over the millenniums by the water of the river on the lava basalts of Etna. Here it will be possible to admire the columnar basalts, lava formations resulting from the erosion process and the slow cooling, whose extraordinary shapes have various thicknesses and orientations.

• Tour by jeep or minibus
• Organized by: Etna Tribe
• Duration: Excursions start at around 9.00 am, and the return is expected to be at about 6.00 pm (9 hours)
• Tour Language: Italian, English, Spanish (on request), French (on request) and German (on request)
• Days: Thursday and Sunday
• Difficulty: Easy
• Side: Etna South
• Pick up: Pick up and drop-off from your accomodation in Taormina and Giardini Naxos
• Extra cost high altitude: 2500m(cable car): €52,00 - 3000m (cable car + 4x4 minibus with local alpinist guide): €80,00 per person
• Suggested Equipment: Windbreaker / Tennis shoes / Water / Hat and sunglasses