Wow, is all I can say! If you have a chance to visit Europe’s most active volcano, Mt Etna, absolutely do it. I loved my visit here and consider it one of the best days of my life. It’s so incredible to get so close to this magnificent force of nature. You can catch a Mt Etna Sicily excursion with Cable Car and 4 WD from Catania, Messina and Taormina. Read on and discover how you can gaze eerily close at this active volcano.
About Mt Etna
Mount Etna is a stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy lying on the African and Eurasian Plates. It is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, standing at 3357 m high. Mt Etna is the largest of the 3 active volcanoes in Italy. Even more, it’s one of the world’s most active volcanoes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fertile soil surrounding the volcano offers prolific agriculture with orchards and vineyards on the slopes.
Mt Etna has 5 craters on the summit: Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and two at the Southeast Crater Complex. Internal collapses and eruptions created new craters. Most of the eruptions happen on the summit. Other eruptions happen on the flanks through small holes or 300 vents. The summit eruptions are more dramatic, but not usually a threat to the communities nearby. In comparison, the flank eruptions lie closer to the towns and pose more of a threat. The most recent eruption happened in August 2024 causing the Catania Airport to close due to volcanic ash in the air.
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Mt Etna Sicily Excursion
w/ Cable Car & 4WD
I loved my daytrip to Mt Etna! It was a perfect day in September with sunny, clear skies. I took a tour from my cruise ship docked in Messina. We drove to the cable car station Funivia dell ’Etna located at the Piazzale Funivia. This is near the Rifugio Sapienza Hotel and ski area, south of the crater at an elevation of about 1910 m. From the refuge, the cableway runs upwards to an elevation of 8,200 ft/2,500 m.
Once arriving at the top of the cableway, we took a 4WD bus to an elevation of 9600 ft/2900 m. Then, we walked with a guide the 30-minute circular trail with closer views of the craters. It was absolutely epic. Although, even in summer, be prepared for cold temperatures and wind at this elevation. I recommend dressing in layers. The views with clouds below showed the Gulf of Catania and beyond.
Our guide took us along the ashen trail for about 30 minutes seeing the lava rocks, craters and panorama below. More recent eruptions created the darker lava rocks, while the gray rocks happened earlier. When we were standing as close as possible, the Silvenstri crater exploded, venting a massive plume of ash. This indicates that parts of the crater collapsed. Our guide mentioned that they may close the area after we leave to monitor the situation. Afterwards, we took the cableway down to a restaurant near the Piazzale Funivia.
For the ultimate experience, visitors can take a Guided Tour to crater at the elevation of 10,100 ft/3320 m!
Enjoy Mt Etna!
Any adventure seekers in Sicily must go on a Mt Etna excursion. It is hard to imagine how close visitors get to the craters and how humbling the experience is. If anyone visited Mt Etna and have suggestions on how best to explore this volcano, please leave comments below.
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