Etna North — Altitude 3000 mt.

On the Roof of Sicily: Etna from the North Side

When the volcano calls you from above

There’s a way to climb Etna that few people really know. Not the road for rushed tourists. It’s the north side — Piano Provenzana, the 2002 lava flows, craters smoking quietly against the sky — and this is where you understand what it means to stand above everything.

This tour isn’t for geologists. It’s for anyone who wants to feel the earth beneath their feet and realize, for a moment, how alive it is.

The north side of Etna has a different personality from the rest of the volcano. Rawer, less tamed. The 2002 lava left scars still clearly visible along the mountain’s flanks: black fissures, volcanic sand shifting in the wind, a landscape that looks freshly erupted — because, in part, it still is.

From Piano Provenzana we drive up this side in 4×4 vehicles, crossing lava deposits up to 2,900 metres. As you climb, the vegetation disappears. Only rock remains, scoria, the profile of the Northeast Crater looming ahead.

You reach the viewpoint just as the afternoon starts to give way. From up there, when the weather holds, you can see the Valle del Leone and the Valle del Bove opening below, and then all of Sicily down to the sea. We wait for the sunset here. There’s not much to add about what it feels like to watch the sun drop from the roof of the island.

The tour returns through Piano delle Concazze, then back down to Piano Provenzana.

If weather conditions are unfavourable, we’ll contact you as early as possible to let you know about any cancellation or postponement. The excursion runs in compliance with current regulations. If you have any health conditions, let your guide know before departure — it’s important that you do, not something to mention on the spot.