Riserva dello Zingaro, Palermo
An hour west of Palermo there are a series of wonderful steep promontories that lead to incredible wild coves: it is the Riserva dello Zingaro. The first natural reserve in Sicily since 1986 is one of the most beautiful places to discover on foot. It starts from Scopello for a 5-hour journey in which 15 kilometres are covered. Here you will find 700 species of plants and 40 species of animals, small museums on the rural tradition and typical tuna traps.
Capo Milazzo, Messina
A panoramic walk about three kilometres long to discover the Capo Milazzo peninsula. The path crosses a landscape made of olive groves, cacti and ancient stone ruins and then descends towards the coast. On the northern tip of the peninsula the landscape becomes truly dreamy: this is where the Piscina di Venere is located, one of the most beautiful natural pools in the world.
Riserva Naturale Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari, Siracusa
One of the easiest and most rewarding walks along the Sicilian coast crosses the birdwatching paradise just south of Syracuse. From the main entrance of the reserve, the path follows coastal swamps full of flamingos, geese, storks and other migratory water birds. Continue north to reach Calamosche beach, a strip of sand lapped by turquoise waters. The route is 5 km long.
Gole dell’Alcantara
A trek halfway between the rocks and the waters of waterfalls and ponds inside a canyon created following the cooling of ancient lava flows furrowed in the center by the icy waters of the Alcantara River. An uncontaminated environment that opens to breathtaking scenery. Walls up to 25 meters high and narrow, so that in some places they are just 2 meters apart. The length is of 4 km with a duration of about 2.5 hours without stops.
Monte Etna, Valle del Bove
Established in 1987, the Etna Park is spread over 59 thousand hectares. There are many itineraries proposed suitable for all types of walkers, from the lowest altitudes where the vegetation is green and luxuriant until it touches the summit with the 3,350 meters where ice and cold is the best, especially in winter to have the upper hand. The paths planned to discover and admire historical and recent cones and lava flows, volcanic caves and eruptive systems are really different. One of the most beautiful places in the large park and which develops on the eastern side of Etna, is the itinerary that will take you to the picturesque Valle del Bove. The length is of 5,5 km with a duration of approx. 3 hours.
Il Cammino Ibleo, Ragusa & Catania
Il Cammino Ibleo is one of the most interesting routes for those who want to hike in Sicily, immersed in the nature of the hinterland, with wide differences in height and truly interesting panoramas. Departure (or arrival, depending on the point of view) common is the beautiful village of Palazzolo Acreide, a baroque jewel (but of Greek origin) located in the heart of the Iblei Mountains and the province of Syracuse. Here come the Ragusano Route, 50,4 km, 11 hours, the Netino Route, 36,4 km, 8 hours, and the Catanese Route, 62,6 km, 14 hours, which extend for a total length of 150 kilometres.
Parco delle Madonie
Trekking in these areas will allow you to cross extremely diverse territories. Signs of an ancient religiosity but also of hard-working country life: in isolated areas in the mountains you can discover monasteries, rock churches, hermitages and various religious buildings; along the streets of the waterways, ancient farms and mills.
The itinerary Vallone Madonna degli Angeli is suitable for everyone and more than spectacular. A path that will allow you to discover the rarity and beauty of the Madonie fir also known as the Nebrodi fir. It will be a ring route, about 7 km long that will take you to a maximum height of 1600 meters for a total of 3 hours.
A more demanding and longer itinerary is the one that will lead you to the discovery of the ruins of Ventimiglia Castle, the starting point of this trekking tour passing through Passo Canale and arriving at Monte Daino . A path about 9 km long that alternates long walks immersed in the beech forest and then leaves room for wide and spectacular panoramic views.
Another destination are the Gole di Tiberio. In a deep valley on the border between Castelbuono and San Mauro Castelverde, in the eastern Madonie, a place of enchanting beauty where the protagonist is precisely the water, together with the rock. Here the waters of the Pollina river, impetuous during the winter months, over millions of years have eroded and shaped an outcrop of Mesozoic limestones creating one of the most fascinating and suggestive environments in Sicily.
Necropoli di Pantalica, Siracusa
One of the most suggestive archaeological sites in all of Sicily which has been a UNESCO heritage site since 2005. Over 5 thousand tombs carved into the rock that date back to the Bronze Age, imposing and silent which still stand almost intact in the presence of a lush and unspoiled nature. An immense green area that falls within the Anapo Valley Nature Reserve, a place out of time, a true paradise for trekking lovers. The journey is among the most difficult, as the site is not easily accessible but perched and a bit out of the way. Once on the spot, however, there are a thousand possibilities for walking and hiking with different paths and difficulties. The Pantalica Necropolis can be reached through a series of paths that fall into the Anapo Valley Nature Reserve and which descend from the Iblei Mountains to the Gulf of Syracuse. Access to the archaeological site is possible via two different tracks that start from the two neighboring municipalities of Ferla and Sortino.
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