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Tour code: ETN_PRI
Tour type: 1-day tours: active volcanoes
Difficulty: Custom (variable)
Group size: 1-20
Duration: 4-7 hours

Dates:

Custom and group dates

Price (p.p.): from 95 EUR p. p.

Included:

• Certified VolcanoDiscovery mountain guide

Start at La Sapienza mountain station (1900 m elevation), then take cable car and/or jeeps to bring you quickly to ca. 2900 m elevation. From there, climb to the spectacular and ever changing summit craters (about. 1-1.5 hrs climbing, 400 m difference). The exact route of ascent and which of the summit craters can be visited will depend on weather, fitness, volcanic activity etc.
Next visit the impressive newly formed craters of the eruption in 2002-2003, the new crater formed in the 2001 eruption and a fantastic viewpoint on the rim of the Valle del Bove.

Starting at La Sapienza, the cable car + jeep brings you to 2900 m on Etna's South side. Climb the dramatic and ever changing summit craters from there (about 400 m climbing). After the visit of the summit region, cross to the spectacular Northern rim of the Valle del Leone (at Pizzi Deneri) and finally have great fun descending from the North or Northeast side while "skiing" down a great ash slope. A car brings you back to the point of departure on Etna South.

Treffpunkt im Rifugio Sapienza. Dort steigen wir mit der Seilbahn und dem Jeep auf 2900m und fahren weiter zu den Gipfelkratern (3330m).
Nach dem Besuch des Gipfels gehen wir zurück zur oberen Seilbahnstation (2500m)
bis zum Ausgangspunkt (Rifugio Sapienza 1900m).

We take the cable-car that bring us quickly to around 2500m altitude. From here, we descend into the Valle del Bove, along an extremely steep (40+ degrees), but soft sandy slope where we can run or slide down as if skiing (great fun!! and not dangerous), descending about 1000m altitude in less than about 30 minutes!
At the bottom of the giant depression, an almost alien, rarely visited landscape awaits us,- surrounded by magnificient volcanic dikes, steep walls of ancient lava rocks, we are on the vast field of lava from the 1991-1993 eruption. On an unmarked, but easy trail we cross a sector of the Valle del Bove until we reach one of its lowest points of the SW border, where we can easily climb out of the Valle in just about 30 mins. Within just another hour on an easy path downhill, through forest and passing by giant vertical basalt wall (used as training ground for advanced rock climbers), we arrive at one of the very few springs at Etna, and shortly after that at the road.
A jeep or a minibus will pick us up and bring us back to the point of departure.

After having arrived at the cable-car station (2500m), you hike along the huge ridge called "Back of the donkey", Schiena dell'Asino. This ridge has an exceptional view of the summit craters and the Valle del Bove, giant depression formed by repeated flank collapses of the volcano.
We round off the tour by visiting the Grotta dei Tre Livelli: It was the main channel of the 1792-93 eruption and with a depth of 304 m and a length of 1150m it is the deepest and longest lava tube on Mt. Etna. Reaching 40° the slope of this cave is very unusual for lava tubes. The name Grotta dei Tre Livelli (Three Levels Cave) is due to three different overlapping levels. The transfer between the levels requires a speleo ladder but the visit is possible without any knowledge of speleology. Participants must be able to crawl through some narrow and low passages. At the end a steep slope, which it could be tiring to ascend as the floor is loose scoria. These are the only difficulties of the cave exploration.
Inside the cave lives a small bat colony.
Requirements: To be in good physical shape and not suffer from vertigo and claustrophobia

Early start in 4x4 vehicle to get to the trailhead near Monti Pizilli at ca. 2400 m elevation on the NE rift zone.
From there, it's a 3 hrs hike through bizarre lava fields with many beautiful structures, recent cinder cones and eruptive fissures until the Grotta del Gelo cave is reached in the late morning. Its location is one of the most remote of whole Etna!
We visit of the cave, using crampoons to get onto the ice inside which forms a small permanent glacier normally present all year.

After lunch break at the cave, we hike back (ca. 3 hrs) along a remote trail towards the NE rift zone at lower elevation and circle part of Etna's NE flank between 1900 - 1600 m elevation, gradually entering more and more into beautiful and dense pine, birch and chestnut forests. On the way, a second great lava cave can be visited, the "Grotta dei Lamponi", with huge lava channel structures.

Meeting point at the small ski station of Piano Provenzana ( Etna Nord); transfer to the summit area by 4x4; hike to the summit craters and descent through a spectacular canyon all the way back to Piano Provenzana where the tour ends.

Special tours when and where an eruption takes place (such as during March-April 2017)

Additional info:

Physical requirements:

At least some experience with hiking on unpaved trails necessary.
Climbing up and down 300 m (ca. 1000 ft) at ca. 3000 m altitude.
Walking up and down on steep, loose sandy surfaces.
No fear of heights.
No breathing or serious respiratory problems.

Arrival info:

Depending on the itinerary the meeting point will be at Rifugio Sapienza ( Etna South) or Piano Provenzana (Etna North). On request, we can include transfers (e.g. from Taormina or Catania) for you at additional cost.

Exciting and educational experience

Dear Emanuela (and Marco)

We all think that you where both fantastic yesterday and we are all very
great full for this exciting and educational experience you gave us
yesterday.

Personally I owe you both a big thank you for looking after Maria and
Rae when it went a bit downhill, Rae a lot, and Maria definitely learned
that she can enjoy things when they become a bit risky.

Marco, I think that you have helped Alex to reconfirm that Geography and
ultimately the volcano element will be a big part of his education over
the next 3 to 4 years.

Thank you so much for a great day and experience that we will all
treasure for many years.

Best regards
Steen

Hi Emanuela-

Thanks for the pictures and thanks again for hosting us in Etna- Etna turned out to be the highlight of our Italian trip Please pass our thanks on to Marco as well
Julie

(Valle del Bove)

Hi Emanuela,

... it was such an exciting experience for us...
for me the best mountain-experience I have ever had!

Best regards
Jutta

Hi Emanuela,

Just wanted to say that Reinhard and I loved our Etna Tour and Marco was a great guide.
He really took good care of us and made it very special.
I want to thank you as well for always answering my questions in a very professional manner.
Thanks to your team for helping us make our dream come true.

Best wishes
Lori and Reinhard

something really special that we will never forget

"Dear Emanuela

Already returned to cold Switzerland I would like to thank you for the great excursion we had last Sunday on our tour with our guide Marco Ponte. It was just a perfect day (weather and guide). We know very well hiking in the Alps but the Etna is something really special that we will never forget. Marco explained everything perfectly and was very passionate and knowledgeable about all things volcanoes!

Attached you will find two pictures of our tour.

Mille grazie e salute de
Petra

(Petra S. from Switzerland about her private Etna day hike in October 2016)

Beautiful memories

Emmanuella,
thanks again for giving us so many beautiful memories, Antonio was great and we had such a good time with you both.

Guillaume.
(Etna Summit Tour)

The best expedition that we have undertaken on any of our journey

Dear Emanuela,

We have arrived home again this weekend after an amazing vacation in Sicily...

... I want to thank both you and our amazing guide from the bottom of my hearth for the best expedition that we have undertaken on any of our journeys. We already knew from earlier experience that Etna is breathtaking no matter when or how you visit it, but fridays trip has amazed us beyond what we expected, and touched me personally aswell. The time we spend at the summit of the NE crater, listening to the churning of the lava lake was a moment I wont ever forget, and has made Etna leave a permanent impression on me. It was also a joy having the both of you along, with both being able to meet you in person after all the contact we had, and also because the knowledge and experience that both of you shared about the volcano added a lot of depth to the experience...
Since we visited Etna twice in the last few years we will probably try to visit some different volcanoes in the coming vacations, but I know, I will return.

Again many thanks, and kind regards,

Kasper Kuijper
also on behalf of,
Vincent van der Hulst
Daan van der Hulst
Fritsjan Bakker

Wonderful Etna tour

Hi Emanuela

Once again a big thank you to you and Rosario for the wonderful Etna tour. My son and I we really enjoyed it. It was impressive to see the volcano and we learned a lot - for sure an experience we will not forget.

best regards
Ralf Schäfer
(Etna Summit Tour)

Hallo Emanuela,
thank you for preparing und providing the photos. When we are looking at the photos we remember the great experience on the Etna.
Thank you for organizing this event for us.
...
Regards from Hamburg
Roland
(Etna Summit Tour)

Unforgettable experience

Dear Emanuela,

thank you very much for the amazing pictures, you could catch great moments of the tour. We would like to thank you and Rosario for the whole tour, it was an unforgettable experience.

Best regards,

Andras

(Etna Summit Tour)

Dear Emanuela

Many thanks for the photos. They are great.
...
We really enjoy the hike with you and Rosario. Please say thank you to him again.

Regards
Tersina
(Etna Summit Tour)

We will never forget it!

Hello Emanuela;
I would like to thank you very much for one of the best experiences we have had. The excursion was incredible, we will never forget it. Please thank Rosario on our beharf.
We will highly recomend this tour to our relatives and friends and maybe, why not, come back our selves again to repete the experience!
We are looking foward to seeing the fotos you took, thank you once again for that as well.
...
Best regards

Victoria
(Etna Summit Tour)

Ciao Emanuela,
grazie per le bellissime foto.
...
Anche per noi è stato un grande piacere per fare questo cammino con voi.
Il giorno dopo abbiamo incontrato un'altra coppia al nostro hotel
che ci ha detto che volevano sul Etna.
Li abbiamo informati della nostra escursione con voi,
e detto loro che dovrebbero darci il benvenuto.
....

Cordiali saluti

Peter
(Etna Traverse Tour)

One of the most memorable experiences

Hi Emanuela and thank you again for your and Rosario's expert guiding on Sunday. I found it one of the most memorable experiences in Sicily, even if my companions struggled. ....
warm regards Monica Pfeffer (Etna Summit Craters Tour)

"I believe we will be talking about it for the next few years..."

"Hi Tom
...
Once again, we really appreciated with your arrangement and guidance. It was the most enjoyable and the highlight of our trip.
It had also opened our eyes to see how wonderful and powerful our planet is.
We still have been talking about it. I believe we will be talking about it for the next few years. I don't think it will be a forgettable experience in my life. Poor me, it will be very hard to find another experience as good as this again. Unless your will take us to somewhere else on earth.
...
We would also thank for your organisation with Rosario to be our volcano guide. He was amazing. Hope we can visit him once again in the future.
...
Thank you very much. Please keep in touch and take care.
Cheers
Tony / Moon / Joan / Eva"
(Tony S. from Hong Kong, about the Etna Volcano Special tour)

A great TRIP to Etna with Rosario

"... btw we had A great TRIP to Etna with Rosario, so much so it has really inspired my son to do Geology in Imperial College in London this September.
...
Cheers, Michelle" (Private Tours on Etna)

...thank you for the wonderful experience that we had... (Trekking Tour on Etna)

Dear Tom, we've just returned from Sicily and would like to thank you for the wonderful experience that we had. We had great weather and could descend into Etna's main crater. Your "variant 1" turned out to be the perfect challenge for our 9 year old daughter, although she found the craters and the fumes a bit scary. My wife and I rank this trip as one of our top 3 experiences so far!
Rosario was a perfect guide: he made us feel at ease and safe, provided just enough explanations without sounding like the stereotypical tourist guide and he was just 100% a pro.
Minor correction: the guides do have boots, backpacks and jackets that your customers can borrow.
I've enclosed a few pictures of us on Mt Etna.
Best regards Sven Jorissen"

a wonderful excursion at the Etna

"Hi Tom,
I would like with this email to thank Volcano Discovery and the Team (Specially Rosario Basile) for a wonderful excursion at the Etna.
I took nice photos which I would like to share at the web page of Volcano Discovery. What shall I do?
Best Regards,
Gabriela Marcano"

... about a trekking tour on Etna

"Hi Tom,
I am sorry that it has taken me so long to email you with feedback from the trip Janet smith and Michael bailey took in June with your guide Rosario to do the full traverse of Etna. It was fantastic and something we will never forget. It was a hard walk but very enjoyable and Rosario was fantastic, he is very knowledgeable, kind and friendly, we were like friends by the end of the walk. Please make sure that you feed back this to him...
Thank you for all your help and we would definitely recommend you to others
Kind Regards
Janet and Mick" (UK)

Feeback from a private group tour on Etna

"Dear Tom,
On Nov. 15, 2009 a group of 11 people went up the Etna with our guide Rosario starting from Rifugio Sapienza.
It was the first vulcano tour for all of us and we were all impressed what we saw during the day: It was awesome to see the boiling craters on the top of the Etna and feeling the heat of this impressive active vulcano. The highlight was for sure the currently open lava spot on the Eastern side of the Etna, it was amazing to see and to feel the power of the earth.
We really have to thank you and Vulcano Dicsovery for the perfect organisation and we also have to thank our guide Rosario, who took care very well of the large group and provided us with very useful and detailed information on vulcanology and geology of the Etna. Rosario thank you very much for this perfect adventure tour!
Here I will also attach 1 foto of our group walking up the Etna on this day.
Thank you again for the organisation!
Mit freundlichen Grüßen/Best regards
Thomas Fruhmann"