Sicily: discovering Etna 2021
Sicily is a magical destination to discover on horseback … the climate is mild all year round, the cuisine is unique and the hospitality will make some life-long memories. Come and discover this island from a different point of view .. from the top of the Etna volcano.
Only guaranteed departure date with minimum 1 person on departure
Further dates on request from April to October with a minimum of 4 participants.
Arrival at Catania airport and transfer to your farmhouse in Castiglione di Sicilia (San Marco or similar).
Breakfast and departure around 9:00 am in the direction of the Alcantara river, up to the Small Gorges of Castiglione, passing through Byzantine Cuba (a cult building from the 7th century) .We will continue up the valley through the River Park surroundings of Mojo Alcantara, where the picnic is carried out, and then we head towards our second accommodation, A Barunissa, a beautiful noble structure, surrounded by woods, on the north side of the volcano. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast and departure around 8:30 am and start of our ascent on the north-east side of the volcano. through woods of oaks, chestnuts, Etna broom (genista aetnensis, a species that reaches considerable size and intensely perfumes the atmosphere when it blooms with its yellow flowers, depending on the height and exposure, between May and September), and finally beech trees when you reach the Pista Altomontana, near Monte Santa Maria. You will continue and follow the track up to Monte Spagnolo, after having crossed the 1981 flow and its Hornitos (from the Spanish "small ovens" small mouths opened during the eruption). We will have a picnic and start again descending from the west side towards of our third accommodation, La Fucina di Vulcano, a comfortable hotel with a magnificent view of the western side of Etna. Dinner and overnight stay
Breakfast and departure from the Forge around 8:30 and ascent from the west side to the Pista Altomontana which can be reached near Monte Scavo and follows through a landscape of beech and conniferous forests alternated with more recent flows. From there_if there is good visibility-we can admire breathtaking views over half of Sicily and the high west side of Etna, where it is possible to make beautiful gallops. Picnic near the Galvarina refuge and arrival in the afternoon at our fourth accommodation, Villa Dorata, a splendid villa overlooking the Gulf of Catania. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast and departure from Villa Dorata around 7:30 am in the South-East direction. Crossing the Rifugio Sapienza area and visit the Silvestri Craters (lateral button craters formed during a great eruption at the end of the nineteenth century) before starting the descent through the Etna Desert. It is so-called for the absence of paths that run through it and due to the harshness of the territory, and then woods of downy oaks, holm oaks and chestnuts, up to the town of Zafferana Etnea. It is famous for its honey production, and on to our fifth accommodation, the B & amp; B Etna Mille77, a splendid structure with sea view. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast and departure around 9:00 am. We will ascent from the east side through holm oak woods (quercus ilex) including the famous Ilici du Carrinnu, a centuries-old specimen of enormous size and then passage to the edge of the Valle del Bove, a famous depression where the lava of all the eastern eruptions of the volcano is channeled. Picnic, resumption of the whole uphill walk up to the Sartorius Craters, splendid craters of craters born during a large lateral eruption in 1865.We will descent through birch and beech forests to finally arrive in the Pineta Ragabo, of larch pines (pinus larix) of considerable size , surrounded by our sixth accommodation, Chalet Clan dei Ragazzi. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast and departure from the Chalet around 9:00 am. We will ascent through the pine forest to Piano Provenzana, a well-known ski resort where we begin to walk a series of slopes and paths in a lunar landscape that take us through what was the scene of the last great eruption in 2002. We will pass through the button gate opened on 26 October of that year, then around Monte Nero. Then, a picnic stop near the Timpa Rossa refuge, immersed in one of the southernmost beech woods of the hemisphere, before starting the descent from the north side through forests of different species, up to the vineyards near Solicchiata, to finally arrive at our starting point. Dinner and overnight.
Breakfast and transfer to the airport.
Tariff per person, starting from:
| Departure | Double | Supplement single |
|---|---|---|
| From 19 June 2021 to 11 September 2021 | € 1,870 | € 330 |
Notes
(B / L / D): B = breakfast; L = lunch; D = Dinner
Only guaranteed departure date with minimum 1 person departing:
Difficulty level: From ° to °°°°°
DURATION: 8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS
DIFFICULTY: °°°° (INTERMEDIATE / EXPERT)
ACCOMMODATION: agritourism and B&B
EQUIPMENT: English saddles with sheepskin for comfort. On request American saddles
HORSES: Sicilian, well trained and accustomed to the territory
GAIT: FROM 5 TO 7 H PER DAY IN THE SADDLE – It requires familiarity and mastery of the horse in the open spaces at the three gaits
MINIMUM AGE : 16 years
MAXIMUM WEIGHT : 90 Kg
TYPE : itinerant trekking with overnight stay in a farmhouse / b & b
ACCOMMODATION:
Overnight stays in simple but comfortable farmhouses and B & Bs.
Picnic lunches with fresh bread, salad, cheeses, olives, cold cuts, Sicilian specialties, wines or other drinks, on request, coffee or tea. Tables, chairs, cutlery are provided.
Dinners of refined Sicilian cuisine based on local products. Evening meals include: appetizer, pasta, meat, dessert, wine, water and digestive (liqueur, grappa, limoncello or any other choice), coffee or tea.
Note: The itinerary described above is to be considered indicative. It may be subject to variations due to weather conditions or circumstances beyond our control.
The tariff includes
The tariff does not include
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
from € 1.810 - Voli esclusi
Duration: 6 days / 5 nights
from € 1.600 - Voli esclusi
Premio Turismo responsabile Italiano 2011
