Mount Etna by Jeep with Tripping Sicily

There are many things to see and experience when you visit Sicily. The most requested excursion on the island is to the volcano Mount Etna.

Mount Etna is the largest and most active volcano in Europe and its awesome presence dominates eastern Sicily. The volcano has several vast craters and a height of 3,330 metres.

To the Greeks it was home to Hephaestus the god of fire who used the volcanoes flames and lava to forge Zeus’s thunderbolts. To the Arabs it was known as Mongibello (Mountain of Mountains).

Today the Parco dell’Etna encompasses much of the volcano, encouraging locals to produce wine, cheese, honey and fruit in the rich lava soil.

For visitors Mount Etna offers breath taking views and great hiking.

The most exhilarating way to discover Mount Etna is to take an off-road jeep excursion.

In October last year my friend Simona of Tripping Sicily invited myself and my husband plus Daisy our dog on a day trip up to Etna by jeep followed by wine tasting in a winery. We had visited Etna a few times in our car but only visited the visitor centre at Etna South, so we were super excited for the adventure ahead of us.

As we woke up on the morning of our trip I walked out onto our roof terrace to see what kind of mood Etna was in. Etna looked clear except for a couple of lenticular clouds covering the main crater, these clouds are more commonly referred to as UFO clouds, they are lens shaped clouds that form at high altitudes.

We waited on our balcony and along our street came our mode of transport for the day, a 4WD Land Rover Defender jeep. We excitedly ran down our stairs to the street where we met Simona and our Etna guide for the day, Lorenzo from Etnafinder. For Daisy, it was love at first sight when she met Lorenzo. We all jumped in the jeep and set off for Mongibello with a love-struck Daisy.

Love-struck Daisy <3

On our drive towards the volcano Simona explained that we would be visiting the ancient lava flows of the 1928 eruption. The area we would visit would be at an altitude of between 1000 and 1800 metres.

Our first stop was in the small town of Milo which has a magnificent piazza with views across the sparkling Ionian Sea. The piazza was busy with Etna visitors and their guides on pit- stops mingling with locals and Daisy easily made friends there. Thereafter we drove through wonderful chestnut and pine woodland towards our first point of interest a sanctuary close to the village of Fornazzo.

This small chapel was built in 1976 by the people of Fornazzo in dedication to the heart of Jesus for helping them escape the dangerous eruption of 1950. In the area outside the chapel stone markers from the Stations of the Cross are visible and the chapel is surrounded by ancient lava flows. Simona told us the story of the sanctuary and then Lorenzo explained the geology of the area. We jumped back into the jeep for our next stop.

Lorenzo took a well laid road then all of the sudden he took a sharp left turn onto a rough track and we felt like we had been propelled into an episode of Top Gear. The jeep was crossing rough volcanic terrain and we were bumping all over the place and it was so much fun, my husband’s face was lit up like a child at Christmas. The track went through a wooded area and we were surrounded by the most beautiful purple flowers, Lorenzo explained that these were Saffron flowers with their vivid crimson stigmas. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. In Italian Saffron is Zafferano like the nearby Etna town of Zafferano Etnea.

After our exciting ride our next stop was the Chapel of Magazzeni which is located in the territory of the town of Saint Alfio. The chapel was built in homage to three martyred Saints, St. Alfio, St. Filadelfo and St. Cirino. It is said that the three Saints were taken out of the church and placed in the path of the 1928 lava and diverted the flow. A miracle. In this vicinity, we were surrounded by the ancient hardened lava rocks everywhere.

Milo

Lorenzo and Simona explained that the eruption of 1928 began in Autumn on November 2^nd and ended after 18 days destroying the village of Mascali and interrupting the rail and the road communications. It developed in several stages. On the night of November 3^rd, a fracture at 2100 metres above sea level let out a lava flow which went to the village of Saint Alfio. A lower fracture opened at 1200 metres above sea level that went towards the Pietrafucile river in the direction of the village of Mascali. The village was completely destroyed except part of the outskirts. The lava flow stopped on 20^th November after reaching the village of Carrabba at only 25 metres above sea level. The village of Mascali was rebuilt in another area.

Simona remembered that on a previous trip to Etna with another guide that they had shown her the fracture which generated the lava flow of 1928 and she became really excited when she recognised a road where she thought it was located and she was correct. We took a small rough road and parked the jeep on the crunchy volcanic ash surrounding us. We followed a sign marked I crateri, Daisy who was still enamoured with Lorenzo trotted behind him which she continued to do for the rest of the day. And then there it was the fracture of 1928 and it was unbelievable to think of the destruction this huge opening in the ground had created all those years gone by. We took lots of photos then walked back to our jeep for our next adventure, a hike to a lava tunnel.

As Lorenzo drove onwards through woodland we passed orchards where we could see farmers apple picking. The outside mountain air was filled with the smell of the small delicious Etna apple.

Further on we passed locals picking mushrooms in the woods, with their depth of flavour Etna mushrooms are delicious and pungent and are in season in Autumn months. Autumn is a wonderful time of year to visit Etna when it is harvest time.

We eventually reached Rifugio Citelli which is the starting point for hiking on the eastern flank of Mount Etna.

Lorenzo explained that the hike that we would take to the lava tunnel would usually take 40 minutes there and 40 minutes back and that we should bring something warm as the weather conditions change frequently. When he grabbed a walkie talkie I realised that this was going to be a serious hike, thank god for my new Nike trainers.

The trail started and we began walking on lava ash and basalt which was crunchy under our feet. We climbed up and down the path through the woods surrounded by silver birch and pine trees. Lorenzo was always at the front with Daisy closely behind him followed by my husband holding onto Daisy’s lead, Simona and then myself. We crossed ancient lava flows where water from melted snow had polished the rocks and we had to take care not to slip, every now and again Daisy would find a small pool of fresh mountain water to dip her paws into. The landscape looks like you are walking on the moon. Within the lava rocks and volcanic ash Lorenzo showed us rare alpine plants growing in the fertile ground. There is one which is nick named in Italian and translated as 'Mother in Law' which he explained meant that they are nice when you first see them but afterwards they become a bit spiky.

Ancient Lava Flows

The view from this trail was awesome, aside from the sweeping views towards the sea, we could see Taormina with tiny cruise ships anchored in the bay of Naxos and across to the mainland to Calabria. But the most spectacular sight was to be able to see across the island to the North where the beautiful Aeolian Islands were clearly visible like mirages and we could see the smoking cone of the island Stromboli another active volcano, so we shouted across "Ciao" from one volcano to another. We carried on to the lava tunnel across the lunar like landscape.

This lava tunnel is called the Grotto Serracozzo. The entrance was very low as we climbed in. The openings in the roof allow natural light in so you can see stripes on the tunnel wall created by the lava during the flow.

A lava tunnel is a natural cave formed by flowing lava which moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. The tunnel we visited was extinct meaning that when the lava flow ceased and the rock cooled it left a long cave like tunnel. It really is quite magical.

Eventually it was time to hike back to the jeep the way we came.

I have to admit I am not the most active or fittest of people and so I was quite chuffed when Lorenzo congratulated me on making the whole hike in 70 minutes when we reached the jeep and I was impressed with myself when he said that people use this trail to train for triathlons. Maybe the thought of wine tasting after gave me the incentive.

Speaking of which we started our drive to the Fishchetti Winery in the beautiful nearby town of Castiglione di Sicilia crossing the big lava flow of the most recent significant eruption of 2002 which destroyed the ski station and visitor centre of Piano Provenzana and threatened the towns of Nicolosi and Linguaglossa below.

The day really was a trip of a lifetime full of fun and adventure and definitely one to be ticked off the bucket list.

Our day ended after tasting some delicious Etna wines with local produce and as Lorenzo drove us home to Giardini Naxos a very tired Daisy sat in the back of the jeep with her head propped between the front seats on the arm rest staring up at Lorenzo in admiration and with hearts in her eyes.

Next Blog post: Fishchetti Winery

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Never go walking on Mount Etna alone unless you are experienced hikers, go with a trained guide like Lorenzo. Wear different layers of clothing so you can adapt to the many sudden changes in the weather, when we visited one minute the sun was hot then the next minute a strong icy wind would blow down from the peak. Wear sturdy footwear for the harsh lava terrain. Take plenty of water.

I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Simona of Tripping Sicily for inviting us on the trip and to Lorenzo from Etnafinder for being the perfect guide and helping me survive the hike. To spend a day like this with friends who are so passionate and knowledgeable about Sicily and Mount Etna is pure pleasure.

If you enjoyed this Blog post then you might love my post:
“at sea with Tripping Sicily”
a wonderful day at sea off the Taormina coastline
with Simona on a beautiful vintage gullet.

For more information on Etnafinder Jeep Excursions contact

Simona Ferro www.trippingsicily.com

Daisy was rescued at 8 weeks old by London charity All Dogs Matter,
they have many other dogs looking for their forever home,
visit their website at www.alldogsmatter.co.uk

Photo Gallery

(all photos are my own)

Etna that morning seen from our roof terrace