Out of town
Up Etna and back in a day
From Catania it is half a day, there and back. But the mountain has two sides, three ways up, and one rule that allows no exceptions: leave in the morning.
3 min read
All issuesEtna is visible from almost everywhere in Catania. It sits at the end of every street running north, and it changes colour every hour of the day. The first question visitors ask is nearly always the same: can you go up and back in a day?
Yes. With a little planning you leave after breakfast and are back for dinner. But you have to choose a side, and that choice changes the whole trip.
Two sides, two mountains
The south side — Rifugio Sapienza (1,910 m). The busier and the easier to reach: by car, or on the scheduled bus that leaves Catania in the morning and returns in the afternoon. The cable car goes up from there, and above it the guided four-wheel drives reach around 2,900 metres. At the Silvestri Craters, right beside the car park, you can walk without going any higher: they are extinct cones from 1892, and they give you the idea.
The north side — Piano Provenzana (1,800 m). Further away, more wooded, far less crowded. Reachable only by car, via Linguaglossa. This is the side for walking through pine forest and seeing the 2002 lava flows without queuing.
If it is your first time and you have half a day, go south. If you have a full day, a car and an appetite for silence, go north.
Altitude tells. At 3,000 metres, in May, it can be ten degrees colder, with wind. Nobody says this often enough.
How you actually get up
- To about 1,900 m: on your own, by car or bus. No guide, no special equipment.
- To about 2,500 m: by cable car, then on foot along the marked paths around the upper station.
- Above 2,900 m: only with authorised alpine and volcanological guides. This is not a formality: the summit area is regulated and conditions change day to day.
Sunset excursions are the most beautiful and the coldest. If you choose one, you will be back in Catania late: better to plan a light supper on your return than to book a table for nine.
What to bring, even in July
Closed shoes with a proper sole — volcanic sand gets in everywhere and it cuts. A fleece and a windproof jacket, always. Sunglasses and sunscreen: above 2,000 metres the sun works differently. More water than seems necessary. A light scarf or buff for the dust.
What you do not need: crampons, except in winter with snow on the ground — and in that case the guide provides them.
When to go
From May to October the climb is nearly always possible. July and August are the busiest months and the hottest at the bottom, though the altitude is pleasant. September and October are the best of all: clear air, few people, and a light that at that height becomes something else.
In winter Etna is a ski resort, with lifts at Nicolosi and Linguaglossa. Non-skiers can still go up, but the day has to be built differently.
One check before you leave
Conditions change: temporary closures, eruptive activity, high winds at altitude. The INGV Catania bulletin and the lift operators' own sites tell you each morning what the real situation is. A two-minute check the night before saves a ninety-minute drive to a stationary cable car.