Etna Trekking to Valle del Bove and the 1971 Serracozzo Lava Cave

The walk goes up the north side and ends at the rim of the Valle del Bove, the valley on the eastern flank that is a lava desert on a scale hard to judge until you are looking into it. Standing on that edge puts the north-east and south-east summit craters in front of you, with the sea behind and the summit above, all in one line of sight. On the way up, the route goes inside the Serracozzo cave, a lava tunnel left by the 1971 eruption. A tunnel like that forms when the surface of a flow cools into a crust while the lava underneath keeps running, and then drains out. The descent is the part nobody expects to enjoy. It goes down soft lava sand, which takes the foot the way snow does, so the way back is quick and easy on the knees. The day starts at Via Mongibello in Fornazzo, where the guide meets you and there is an Italian breakfast before setting off. Parking there is free and there is plenty of it.