Walking on Etna - The summit Craters "Solo Andate" (from Etna Sud)

An overview of the hiking trails from the South side of Mount Etna to the Summit

Grade: various Distance: various Altitude Gained: up to 1400m Duration: various   To wander around Etna’s summit craters is undoubtedly a unique and fascinating experience - a stark ashy landscape, with subtle beauty. An eclectic mix of fire and ice. Nature, at her most raw. The level of difficulty and duration of the trekking on Etna's summit is a case of personal choice – there are many routes to choose from, and for this reason we describe here individual facets of the hill-tops, so you can choose for yourself where to venture.

Above: Strenuous hiking to the summit of Mount Etna & the Bocca Nuova, September 2006 © Mat & Niki Adlam-Stiles, 2007

Walking around the Summit of Mount Etna:

This set of hiking route descriptions for Mount Etna's summit is focused around the South Side of Etna, and the routes from Rifugio Sapienza. The terrain is sufficiently challenging in places, that routes that make a delightful ascent or descent when hiking on Etna, are not necessarily pleasurable in reverse. We have thus divided the hiking guides into three sections for clarity, namely:

• Walking / trekking routes on Mount Etna – Recommended ascent routes
• Walking / trekking routes around Mount Etna’s summit craters
• Walking / trekking routes on Mount Etna – Recommended descent routes