Places
Hike·Moderate·Scenic·Popular
Etna — Piano Provenzana, North
Sicily
The Piano Provenzana on Etna's northern slope was destroyed by the 1981 lava flow and is now a landscape of regrowth — Etna broom (Genista aetnensis), Corsican pine and Sicilian birch colonising the black lava. The Etna endemic broom turns the lava gold in June. From the upper slopes (2,700 m), the Aeolian Islands, Calabrian coast and Apennines are all visible simultaneously. Far fewer visitors than the southern cable-car approach.
Duration
4 hours
Distance
10 km
Elevation
+600 m
Best season
June – October
Highlights
- 1981 lava field now carpeted in endemic Etna broom
- Aeolian Islands, Calabria and Apennines simultaneously visible
- Northern approach — far fewer visitors than cable-car south
With your dog
Lava field and pine forest; dogs off-leash.
