Hiking summit of Mt Etna, Sicily - Escursione ai crateri sommitali dell'Etna, Sicilia

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In early July 2022, my friends and I went to the south-eastern coast of Sicily for a tour of this incredibly beautiful island. Given the insane heat wave which hit Europe in those weeks, we decided to find some cooler temperatures on Mt Etna, Europe's highest active volcano (3300 m). On July 2nd we were in the amazing Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) for a night tour of this UNESCO site. We left Agrigento at around 11:00 PM and drove east (and up) to the Hotel Villa Dorata, on the southern side of Mt. Etna at almost 1900 m of altitude. We were right: it was almost too cold as the volcano's temperatures dropped to 12°-14° C. The day after, we had a full day hiking the mountain. We parked our car at Rifugio Sapienza and started our tour with Etna tour guide. We started at 10:00 AM (or 10:30, I'm not sure, sorry!) and came back at around 5:00 PM, just in time for a delicious granita di gelsi.

Remember that you must be with a guide if you want to hike above 2700 m as it is illegal to hike on your own above that altitude. For instance, there are some spots where what looks like a rock bed is actually a pretty recent lava flow, meaning you could melt your own feet (...and die...). We took the gondola and started our hike for a total of 6 hours. The hike itself is moderate, but the terrain can be challenging in a few spots. Especially when the wind blows strong.

The company we did our tour with provided us with hiking boots, a jacket, socks, and a helmet. Don't forget to bring food and water: it's important to keep yourself hydrated!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments! Happy travels!