Etna North Summit at 3,380 m: 4x4 to 2,960 and the Four Active Craters

Etna nord-Piano Provenzana, Via Provenzana, Linguaglossa

The meeting point is in the car park near the chairlift that runs at Etna Nord in winter. The bar is the second of the four buildings in the car park. Note carefully: the meeting point is the Chiosco Bar Mareneve, not the Chiosco Bar Etna Nord.

Piano Provenzana

Piano Provenzana is the Etna Nord tourist area: less crowded than the southern slope and closer to the volcanic ground. The guides meet you here. Before departure there are bathrooms, and the café does breakfast, coffee or tea and a pastry. A short briefing follows, and the guides hand out the equipment. The meeting point stands inside the 2002 lava flow. That eruption, on 27 October 2002, destroyed the tourist area that was here. The access road is fully drivable, so you can arrive in your own vehicle. In winter bring snow chains or use winter tyres. From here the group boards 4x4s for the panoramic drive up the northern flank, across lava fields and lateral craters, to 2,960 m, where the trek begins.

Costo extra

Itinerario Crateri Sommitali

Meet the guides at 7:45 at Piano Provenzana; departure is between 8:00 and 8:15. From May to October there is also an afternoon start at 1:00 p.m. The drive uses authorised 4x4 vehicles on a 9.5 km panoramic track, on the wilder and less touristy north side, where the groups stay small. It climbs from 1,800 m to 2,960 m, crossing forest, recent lava flows, a lava-flow channel, eruptive fractures and lateral craters over 40 m deep. The guides stay with you for the drive and the walk. The unpaved road looks out over northern Sicily, the Aeolian Islands, the Strait of Messina, Calabria, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian. On a rare completely clear day you can also pick out the Madonie, the Gulf of Catania, Syracuse, Augusta and the Valle del Bove. The ground changes as you climb: green woodland, then craters, then high-altitude desert, ending near 3,000 m where the trek starts.

Mount Etna

The summit hike starts at 2,960 m. About 5 km of walking and 550 m of ascent lead to the summit area and its four main craters: North-East, Voragine, Bocca Nuova and South-East. Volcanic activity changes daily, so the guides choose the safest path towards the most active crater that can still be approached, and they adjust it when gas, heat or fractures require it. Between the high rocks and the fumaroles, a route can shift at any time. The altitude runs from 2,960 to 3,380 m. Participants need to be fit and should report any health issues beforehand, because mild altitude effects are possible. At the top you walk the rims of active craters, with fumarolic gas, strong mineral colours and recent lava formations, and views over Sicily, both seas, the Aeolian Islands and Calabria. The descent goes down soft scoria channels, 4 km and 600 m of drop, making 8 to 9 km in total over about 5 hours, before the 4x4 ride back, 25 to 30 minutes.

Piano Provenzana

Piano Provenzana sits on the north side of Etna and is reachable by car or rental car on fully paved public roads. Pine forest and lava fields surround it. The October 2002 eruption reshaped the area and destroyed the original facilities, which is why the ground here reads as history rather than scenery. There are souvenir shops, cafés and bars for breakfast, lunch or coffee, and places to refill a water bottle. In winter it works as a ski station; in summer it is where the guided hikes start. Parking is in the blue-lined areas and takes cars and camper vans. If you have booked a tour, the volcanological guide meets you at the on-site meeting point. It is quieter than the other Etna stations, which is most of its appeal.