Sicily tours, Sicily holidays, Etna tour by SicilyLife

Mt. Etna Volcano is one of the world's most active volcanoes. At approximately 3350 meters, it is Europe's highest active volcano. It has been erupting since several million years. Mt Etna is one of the greatest and beautiful volcano adventure tour destinations in Sicily, beside many other which can be easily enjoyed from our charming village of Taormina. This volcano has more than 400 craters, split all over the Catania county. To the ancient Greeks, Mount Etna was the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops. Etna offers skiing in the Winter months and breathtaking hikes in the woods during the Summer. There are also a number of smaller peaks on the slopes of Etna, and some interesting caverns. Various species of oak and stone pine, as well as birch and beech, cover much of its sloped surface. Broom plant and other shrubs dot the area, especially at lower altitudes. Etna's deciduous trees change color in the Autumn, creating a spectacular panoply of changing shades.

Our tour today will start, picking you up from your place at your most convenient time and driving to mount Etna through several Sicilian towns (Santa Venerina, Zafferana). We visit some old lava flows on the way. During the ascent different kinds of vegetation can be noted. We will reach 2.000 meters (7.000 ft.) where we take a walk together to visit the “Silvestri” craters (last century eruption) and the latest new lava flows and craters from 2001/2003, enjoy the desert moon atmosphere! On the way, we will also stop and visit a local family farm where it is possible to taste local Etna wine, a selection of natural honey (orange, lemon, eucalyptus, strawberry...), almond pastries, olives, extra virgin olive oil... We then have a stop at one of the most known vineyards "Tenuta San Michele del Murgo" where it is possible to tour the wonderful property overlooking the sea and the volcano and taste some of their local table wine (optional stop). We drive down from the mount through a wonderful pine tree forest and will end the day with a visit of the charming village of Giardini Naxos by the sea (first Greek colony in Sicily).
On request we can visit the famous Alcantara Gorges (waterfall) made from an old eruption, probably the one which destroyed Naxos more than 2.000 years ago.