It consists of a dirt road built several decades ago by the licensed companies in charge of trasporting tourists by off-road minibuses. It departs from the two ski resorts and ends at the authorised quotas, which have varied through the years according to the risk arising from volcanic activity. The road starts on the south side, at an altitude of 1,910 m, next to the Cableway station and encircles the summit area at an altitude of around 3,000 m a.s.l., keeping the distance from the complex of terminal and sub-terminal craters, thus ensuring a reasonable level of security. It then descends to Piano Provenzana (about 1,800 m) where there is an additional ski resort.<\/p>\n
The track is shared between hikers and motor vehicles. On the south side, it has been modified or even completely remade a number times in the 1970s, 1980s and early 2000s, when the new Escriv\u00e0 de Balaguer<\/em> and Vincenzino Barbagallo <\/em>craters appeared along it and large lava flows cross edits south-descending ridge.<\/p>\n From this side, short detours allow hikers to overlook the underlying Valle del Bove in several points, over most of the lava has flowed from the South-East Crater in recent years. The path also allows visiting the aforementioned recently appeared craters and observing, from a relatively close distance, the complex consisting of the two summit chasms, one of which retains the name of Central Crater, and the older 1968 complex of Bocca Nuova and the two sub-terminal North-East and Southeast craters. On the North side, the track has faced much less changes and, with short detour, allows hikers to reach Pizzi Deneri (2,847 m) and the underlying Rocca della Valle (2,738 m). These are extraordinary terraces allowing enjoying a wide panorama that stretches above Valle del Bove and Valle del Leone, both located on the slopes of the volcano. The two ends of the route can be reached by private vehicles and constitute Hiking Base Points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It consists of a dirt road built several decades ago by the licensed companies in charge of trasporting tourists by off-road minibuses. It departs from the two ski resorts and ends at the authorised quotas, which have varied through the years according to the risk arising from volcanic activity. The road starts on the south…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2739","sentiero","type-sentiero","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"acf":{"sentieri":[{"ID":2741,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"The trail consists of a very light trace. It departs from the small road called Hiking Trail no. 702 and reaches the edge of the Valle del Bove at an altitude of 2,500 m. The track then makes a 120\u00b0 turn on top of Montagnola (2,638 m) and takes the Canalone della Montagnola, consisting of subtle, almost rock-free volcanic sand, to descend quickly along its steep slope to reach the bottom of the valley at an altitude of 1,700 m, where the slope becomes much less pronounced. This allows overcoming a difference in altitude of about 800 meters.\n\nWhile descending, it is possible to enjoy the rugged secondary valleys located along the two major sierras (Salifizio and Concazze), respectively enclosing Valle del Bove from South and North, the volcanic phenomenon of the dykes, evidence of ancient, decaying volcanic structures, as well as wide panorama overlooking the Ionian coast. The unstable trail located on the bottom of the valley heads to the base of a not particularly interesting ravine. This follows the uphill-bound Canalone dei Faggi, gaining about fifty meters in altitude to reach the edge of the Serra delle Concazze. Hence, it is possible to proceed down to the paved road (SP 92) via Hiking Trail no. 727. Alternatively, you can take Hiking Trail no. 704 from both sides. Due to the slope of the Canalone della Montagnola and its sandy bottom, the trail must be considered as one-way. The Park Authority retains the right to forbid access to this trail in case it is overused.","post_title":"Canalone della Montagnola","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"canalone-della-montagnola","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-19 10:51:08","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-19 09:51:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/canalone-della-montagnola\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2743,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"This 15-km-long hiking trail is part of the \u201cSentiero Italia\u201d surrounding Etna on the southern side. The need to ensure its continuity made it necessary to allow it to cross some segments of the paved S.P. 92 road.\n\nThe route formally begins at Piano Vetore, where it joins hiking trail no. 701 and, through S.P. 92, proceeds slightly uphill towards the area constituting the core of the \"Etna South\" ski resort, where the Sapienza Lodge, the Etna cableway station and various other buildings are located. Then, the trail continues on the paved road between the Higher and Lower Silvestri Mounts, to subsequently proceed downhill towards Zafferana for slightly less than one kilometre, until it gets wider (q. 1,832 m) and meets a crossroads, from which an unpaved small road closed by a bar departs. Once past it, the trail climbs towards the edge of Valle del Bove and reaches it at the \u201cLapide Malerba\u201d (2,040 m a.s.l.), a stone placed in memory of a hiker here fallen to his death. Here the descent begins and the trail unfolds for a few kilometres until M. Zoccolaro or its forepart M. Pomiciaro.\n\nWhere possible, this segment proceeds along the edge of the Serra del Salifizio and then facing Valle del Bove, thus allowing a broad view, while departing to where the vegetation, generally consisting of Etna\u2019s broom, grows so thick that it must be bypassed in order to get past it. About halfway through the segment between the Malerba Stone and M. Zoccolaro, hikers first meet the upper entrance to the Canalone dei Faggi and then the other one (1,751 m) leading out of Valle del Bove to Acqua Rocca degli Zappini. The Eastbound hiking trail no. 704, after merging with a 950-meters section marked as Sentiero Natura<\/em>, meets a paved road called \"Cassone - M. Pomiciaro\" departing from S.P. 92.\n\nThe route then unfolds down towards Zafferana by touching the hairpin turns of the road three more times, until it takes an ancient but suggestive path featuring rough steps (and hence called \"la Scalazza\", i.e., the \u201cBad Staircase\u201d). Its base is located along the entrance of Valle di S. Giacomo, precious for the water it supplies to the underlying village.\n\nFrom this area, not surprisingly called \"Piano dell'Acqua\" (i.e., \u201cWater Plain\u201d), and through 380 m of paved road, it is possible to reach the village of Ballo, where Hiking Trail no. 704 formally ends and merges Hiking Trail no. 724.\n\nHowever, the centre of Zafferana can be reached from Ballo for an overnight stay.","post_title":"Piano Vetore \u2013 Piano dell\u2019Acqua","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"piano-vetore-piano-dellacqua","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-19 10:51:57","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-19 09:51:57","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/piano-vetore-piano-dellacqua\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2787,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"The route unfolds on a cart track built by private initiative around 1972 to facilitate the transport of tourists to the high altitudes of the Volcano with motorized vehicles, an activity that was never carried out. Subsequently, the whole area became part of the State Property, which forbade the transit of these vehicles. Once abandoned, the cart track remained intact in some sections, while in others only a faint trace remains.\n\nThe trail begins South-West of Monte Baracca at an altitude of 1,715 8 m a.s.l., along Hiking Trail no. 724. Its surrounding environment is characterised by a notable rare scrub of Etna birch settled on volcanic substrata, and develops for 6,900 m. Above 1,900 m of altitude. The trail\u2019s multiple hairpins turn overcome the steep slopes of the North-Eastern side of Pizzi Deneri and, after passing some impluvia, the track reaches Piano delle Concazze at an altitude of 2,791 m North-West of Pizzi Deneri, in the middle of the lava desert typical of the summit areas of Mount Etna. An average gradient of 15.5% with peaks of 20% makes the \u201cTagara del Leone\u201d among the most difficult hiking trails of Mount Etna.","post_title":"Tagara del Leone","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"tagara-del-leone","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-19 11:18:04","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-19 10:18:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/tagara-del-leone\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2789,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"The trail\u2019s entrance is located on the right, just 100 meters before the Citelli Lodge and marked by specific signs. After a roughly ten-minute walk, hikers come across a small sheepfold. Once they get past it, the trail heads to the left, offering an initial journey through the birches of Etna. Together with three\/four channels consisting of large, thick formations of lava smoothed by the river flow, they represent an evidence of the cold climate and considerable presence of water that characterised the area in the past, as resulting from the melting of the glaciers after the glaciation.\n\nAfter a twenty-minute walk through the woodland, the trail opens to a valley where hikers can observe the interesting phenomenon of a cave-shaped lava formation (it.: ingrottamento<\/em>) known as the Grotta di Serracozzo, dating back to the 1971 eruption occurred along a fracture. The cave entrance is located upstream of the mouths and consists of a small passage requiring hikers to carefully bend down. The hikers equipped with protective helmets and flashlights may walk into it for about fifty meters.\n\nIn front of the mouths, the path regains altitude with a rather steep climb and reaches a panoramic view of the Valle del Bove at an altitude of 2095 m a.s.l. From there, it is possible to observe a series of magmatic dykes, which protect the valley itself from erosion, along a ridge known as Serracozzo following a fairly evident track. Return can be made more easily along the ridge up to 2150 m a.s.l., and then by starting to descend along a wide sandy expanse constituting the alternative trail no. 723A, which crosses the 1928 eruptive mouths, to finally join the main trail at an altitude of 1865 m a.s.l. near the sheepfold. Alternatively, from an altitude of 2150 m a.s.l. it is possible to proceed further on to Rocca della Valle by taking a slight detour at a sandy formation located on the right at an altitude of 2738 m a.s.l. and a 1610-metres walk. It is also possible to reach Pizzi Deneri at an altitude of 2847 m a.s.l. through an additional 740-metres walk. Along this segment, it is possible to observe prominent examples of the so-called \u201clava cicirara<\/em>\u201d, i.e., basaltic rocks characterised by large whitish plagioclase crystals. At Rocca della Valle, the rocky route features a particularly challenging average gradient of almost 50%.","post_title":"Rifugio Citelli - Serracozzo","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"rifugio-citelli-serracozzo","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-19 11:18:29","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-19 10:18:29","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/rifugio-citelli-serracozzo\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2791,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"Located in the outskirts of Zafferana Etnea at an altitude of 657 m a.s.l., the village of Ballo marks the starting point of this trail. From the driveway in the initial segment, it gradually becomes more rustic to turn finally into a simple path alternating large stretches of rough lava fields from the 1852 and 1951 eruptions, with verdant areas spared by recent eruptions (Piano Bello). After 45 minutes, hikers get past the giant Ilice di Carrinu, which is believed to be 800 years old. Then, along the southern edge, after 6.7 km it is possible to reach a modest pass located under M. Fontane and overlooking the Valle del Bove, or alternatively head on to Case Pietracannone (1,150 m), Hiking Base Point located along the SP \"Mareneve di Fornazzo\".\n\nFrom here, the route bends North-West to face a long, shaded, steep ascent along the Pineta della Cubania, to rejoin the aforementioned S.P. at an altitude of 1,675, from where hikers can proceed left to the Citelli Lodge for an additional 950 m and, after 200 m, take another entrance on the right into the State Forestry Property. For a few hundred meters now, the track is unfolding across a not very wide area featuring a colony of splendid birch trees. From here, the track becomes almost flat, going from 1,660 m (where the bar marking the State Property border is located) to 1,800 m of Piano Provenzana, which can be reached after additional 5.6 km.\n\nAlong this segment, hikers immediately leave the Sartorius Mountains, born in 1865 and featuring a specific Sentiero Natura, on their right. Further on the left, the very steep Hiking Trail no. 722 (see above) departs and further into that, with a detour of just 200 m to the left, it is possible to reach the M. Baracca Lodge, in whose already pleasant surroundings are a \"pietracannone<\/em>\" as well as the bed of an ephemeral water course with a perfectly smooth lava bottom. After Piano Provenzana, the trail heads up north and runs into M. Nero di Linguaglossa, which can be passed either from the right via the main route (trail no. 724, touching an altitude of 1,920 m a.s.l.) or from the left, via the alternative trail no. 724A. The latter slightly exceeds an altitude of 2,000 m a.s.l. and allows passing near the M. Timparossa Lodge (1,838 m).\n\nOnce the two trails have joined, the route descends towards Passo dei Dammusi (1,709 m), where it connects to the Pista Altomontana (Hiking Trail no. 701). Just below the afore mentioned refuge, a shortcut (Trail no. 739) allows reaching the Grotta delle Palombe area more quickly to continue on the Sentiero Italia towards the Valle dell\u2019Alcantara.\n\nThe entire route is 26,250 km long; it crosses a difference in altitude of 1,375 m and is part of the Sentiero Italia.","post_title":"Case Pietracannone \u2013 Passo Dammusi","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"case-pietracannone-passo-dammusi","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-19 11:19:40","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-19 10:19:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/case-pietracannone-passo-dammusi\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"parcheggi":"","grotte":"","rifugi":[{"ID":2085,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2020-03-23 12:38:02","post_date_gmt":"2020-03-23 11:38:02","post_content":"\n Located at 1910 metres,\nthis is a hotel converted from a barracks, known as \"Capanna\nMontagnola\", built by the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Blackshirts)\nand left unfinished with the outbreak of the second World War. With the fall of\nFascism, the facility was given to the Catania section of the CAI, which\ncompleted it and used it as a refuge-hotel. The building was extended to twice\nits size in the 1960s and completely renovated ten years ago. One of Etna\u2019s two\nskiing stations was gradually built up around it in the latter part of the 20th\ncentury, thanks to the presence of a cable car and some ski-lifts. This area\noffers access, on foot or by cable lift (or even off-road vehicle) to the\nsummit area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Rifugio Sapienza is also\ncrossed by the Altomontana Path (701). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Area: 33S<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coordinates: 499877E - 4172585N<\/strong><\/p>\n","post_title":"Rifugio Sapienza","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"rifugio-sapienza","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-03-23 12:38:03","post_modified_gmt":"2020-03-23 11:38:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.old.unescoparcoetna.it\/?post_type=rifugi&p=2085","menu_order":0,"post_type":"rifugi","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"galleria":false,"lunghezza":"24","dislivello_massimo":"1200","tempo_di_percorrenza":"1 giorno","difficolta":"alto\/E","percorribilita":"ottima (trekking\/bici)","informazioni_utili":"Ogni diramazione dal percorso principale \u00e8 indicata dalla caratteristica segnaletica del Club Alpino Italiano mentre lungo tutta la pista \u00e8 possibile trovare diversi segni di conforto a suggerire la direzione da seguire. Si consiglia a tutti gli escursionisti di non uscire dal percorso segnalato, di non gettare rifiuti e di non recare disturbo a vegetazione e\/o animali.","relation":"7841426","id_sentiero":"702","naturalistici":"","panoramici":"","punti_generici":"","colore":"","punto_di_partenza":{"sentiero_di_partenza":false,"altezza_punto_di_partenza":""},"punto_di_arrivo":{"sentiero_di_arrivo":false,"altezza_punto_di_arrivo":""}},"yoast_head":"\n