Читать книгу Walking in Sicily онлайн

64 страница из 69

There is a long-distance trail known as the GTE (Grande Traversata Etnea) around the mountain’s midriff; however, patchy waymarking, ongoing lava flows and dearth of support structures mean it is only really feasible with a guided group: contact the Catania branch of the CAI (Tel 095-7153515 or www.caicatania.it).

Volcanic bomb

Thanks to the panoramic road SP 92 via Nicolosi, the majority of visitors flock to the most accessible zone of the mountain, Area Etna Sud, 1900m above sea level. Day-in, day-out, coach-loads are disgorged at the sprawl of restaurants and kiosks peddling an unbelievable range of souvenirs and postcards. Its landmark is the Italian Alpine Club’s mythical Rifugio Sapienza, which has miraculously survived countless onslaughts of incandescent lava, and has recently been transformed into a hotel. Close by, a brand new gondola car whisks visitors up to the 2500m mark, where 4WD minibuses continue towards the 3000m threshold. Quite frankly a trek to the volcano’s breathtaking summit craters is an unforgettable experience. For safety reasons, at the present time visitors are only allowed to venture to the highest rims in the company of the qualified alpine guides, who are also experts in vulcanology. Metereological conditions permitting, from May through to October the excursions leave the Area Etna Sud (adjacent Rifugio Sapienza) on a daily basis, and are well-worth considering (Tel 095-7914755 or www.etnaguide.com.) Another agency is www.etnaest.com, tel 327 7972212.