How to hike Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano

06.10.2024 - 03:35 / lonelyplanet.com

Oct 4, 2024 • 7 min read

It’s not for nothing that the Egyptian obelisk anchoring Catania’s central piazza supposedly possesses magical powers to temper Mt Etna. Sicily’s second-largest city lives at its mercy. The active volcano – Europe’s largest – buried the city in boiling lava in 1663 and has erupted at least 80 times in the last 100 years. In August 2024, an angry Etna shot a gigantic eruption cloud 10km (6 miles) high in the sky, spewed filthy black ash across cars and sidewalks in the city, and shut down both airports (again) on the Italian island. Little wonder, then, that climbing Mt Etna is no walk in the park.

Despite the hordes that flock to the volcano every year, hiking here is a serious undertaking. The smoke rings that puff gently into a bluebird sky occasionally from one of its multiple craters – four pock its 3369m-high (11,953ft) summit and there are 300-odd lateral craters – might hint at romance, but the reality is far less pretty. The footpath of lava rocks that I picked my way across with a volcanological guide back in July is already long gone, drowned in a new fireball sea of red lava that crashed down from Etna’s peak just weeks after I left. "We built this path by hand, rock by rock, after the last major eruption in December and will no doubt build many more," my guide Mirto explained, handing me a fist-sized nugget of lava to feel, still toasty warm seven months later.

Etna is clearly not a mount to mess with. A typical mountain combo of high altitude and capricious weather, uniquely coupled with volcanic activity and a healthy dose of Sicilian hijinks, makes advance planning essential. Here’s how to tackle hiking on Mt Etna safely, soak in its otherworldly moonscapes, and feel the pulse of planet Earth in real-time.

What with sizzling-hot summer temperatures and high-season crowds, Sicily in August is never a brilliant idea. Snow can linger on Mt Etna’s summit well into April and return in November, making the shoulder seasons – April, May, September and October – the best months for hiking. Spring and fall days are pleasantly warm and sunny, there are fewer travelers, and pea-green cushions of springtime Saponaria blaze purple on Etna’s fertile lower slopes.

Hiking on Mt Etna is strictly regulated. Tramping up an active volcano is not without risk or danger, and it is forbidden to venture above 2500m (8202ft) without an authorized Etna guide. A mind-boggling choice of companies offering guided hikes exists. Check your guide belongs to the Collegio Regionale delle Guide Alpine e Vulcanologiche (Regional College of Sicilian Alpine and Volcanology Guides) before parting with any cash.

I spent two exhilarating days hiking up to Mt Etna’s gigantic summit craters (off-limits since