Unique snowshoe hike in a spectacular volcanic context. The excursion begins in the snowy forest in Sicily on the Etna volcano at an altitude of 1800 meters in Piano Provenzana. The view along the route allows you to admire the sea of Guardini Naxos and Taormina, in conditions of good visibility you can even see Calabria. You will cross the lava flows of the eruptions of the north side of Etna up to the large craters that destroyed the tourist resort of Piano Provenzana. On the top of the large side craters at an altitude of 2200 meters you will have the opportunity to admire the panorama of the snow-covered volcano up to its top, always active with the emission of volcanic gases. The route is 5 km long (round trip) with a total positive difference in height of 300 meters and a total of 3 hours in duration.

Experience Mount Etna's winter landscape on a hiking tour from Nicolosi for experienced hikers. Ride a cable car and will climb up to about 3,000 meters of altitude accompanied by a volcanological guide. Receive high-quality trekking gear including warm clothes, boots, and crampons. Departing from Rifugio Sapienza, take a cable car up to an altitude of 2,500 meters. From there, start the trek to about 3,000 meters. The presence of ice and snow makes this excursion an activity a fun challenge for experienced hikers. Walk through long stretches of snow and visit the cone from the eruption of 2001, the Valle del Bove, and the Barbagallo craters. Admire the summit crater of Etna from a safe distance before starting the trek back. If the snow conditions allow, visit a lava channel before arriving at the upper station of the cable car that you'll ride back to the ground.

The excursion starts from an altitude of about 1850 meters (Rifugio Sapienza), the first part of the route will be conducted over the slope and the sandy ground on which we will walk along an amazing area populated of a black larch pine forest and a rich endemic vegetation such as soapwort, Etna violets, low shrubs which lose their color in winter but not their morphology. In this first part you can enjoy a breathtaking panorama that ranges from the Gulf of Catania to the Ionian Sea. Continuing to walk we will see the active summit craters with the southeast crater in the foreground which on several occasions throughout 2021 and in the first months of 2022 gave rise to a series of very intense eruptive events, with Strombolian activity and flows lava that drastically changed the morphology of the crater. We will arrive on the south wall of the magnificent Valle del Bove, the huge basin that contains the lava flows of the most important and recent eruptions. This valley is ten kilometers long and five wide, it constitutes an embankment against eruptions allowing the lava to flow out and thus keep it away from inhabited centres. The area is also particularly important for volcanologists who can thus observe the progress of the eruptions and at the same time constitute a sort of open-air museum of Etna. After a stop, we will continue in a westerly direction until we reach the eruptive fracture which opened at an altitude of 2100 meters in the year 2001, immediately afterwards we will continue in the direction of the Silvestri craters (upper) and return to the starting point.

You will have a fun experience, suitable for the whole family or an outing with friends, and thanks to the snowshoes you will be able to walk the various paths of the mountain that wind through the pine forest, following an itinerary created by us to let you explore the area to the fullest. Depending on your experience, you can decide whether to take the path through the pine forest for an easier hike or tackle more challenging trails leading up to the craters of Mount Etna, which are more difficult but certainly satisfying and exciting. At the end of the hike you will have lunch at the chalet , where you can choose between two different menus. If you are self-drive you may also decide not to join us for lunch and end your experience