Etna: the Schiena dell'Asino Path to the Valle del Bove

The trail is the Schiena dell'Asino, which means the donkey's back and is named after a rock formation you pass on the way. It is one of the easier routes in the Etna park, and it climbs from 1,800 to 1,970 metres (5,906 to 6,463 feet). Three to four hours in total, starting and finishing at the Schiena dell'Asino car park. The path goes through thick pine forest and over old lava flows, with the Sicilian coast and the Ionian Sea below on one side. The guide covers how Etna was built, the caves inside it, how this ground has changed over recorded history, and what the volcano means to the people who live on it. At the top of the route the Valle del Bove opens up: a depression more than eight kilometres (five miles) across on the eastern flank, floored with volcanic sand and looking closer to a desert than to Sicily. The way down gives a second angle on the valley, past a black sand channel and a volcanic cave. The guide and, where needed, safety equipment are included. Transport to the meeting point is not.