Alcantara Gorge in Sicily. Alcantara river park Alcantara river and gorge in Sicily
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Etna- Teide's competitor? Well, I thought that I was not a competitor (in terms of beauty) and even questioned going there. In fact, the road to the volcano and the walk through the recently erupted craters turned out to be one of my most powerful impressions of this trip.
Even from the plane, on approach to Sicily, we noticed a column of smoke from the crater of the volcano. All the days of our stay on the island Etna was smoking. This gave a special flavor and adrenaline to our trip. Etna alive, you don’t know what and at what moment you can expect from her...
The navigator measured us 110 km to the Rifugio Sapienza station. We drove along the E-45 highway in the direction of Catania, and then, following the signs for Etna, we turned off, and passing several small towns, we completely unexpectedly came out onto a completely narrow, seemingly country road. In general, the road to Etna It took us about an hour and a half. Driving along this road, we stopped many times, as the beauty around was extraordinary! Landscape around Etna quite different from the pine, lunar and Martian landscapes of Teide National Park. I wanted to take pictures and take pictures all the time!
And all around there are bright, lush greenery and colorful flowers and bushes!
We continue our way to the station Rifugio Sapienza and the landscape around begins to change. We are surrounded by lava fields and flowers growing on rocks. And in the distance you can see a smoking Etna.
Finally, we arrived at the base Rifugio Sapienza, located at an altitude of about 1900 m.
The tourist infrastructure is well organized here: cafes, restaurants. Souvenir shops. Here you can take a walk along the side craters, for example Silvestri. (In general, the side volcanic craters near Etna number from 200 to 400. Many of them, with some periodicity, erupt lava.) And from this site you can take the cable car even higher, which we did a little later. In the meantime, let's study Silvestri.
"Dad! Have you ever seen such beauty?!” “No, son, for the first time!” “And I never!”
After walking through the craters, we already seemed to be heading further along the route, but all this seemed not enough to Maxim, he was attracted by other heights. And we decided to take the funicular to a height of 2500 m. We could have traveled further in jeeps to the smoking craters, but at that moment we regretted our time and money. It was only after climbing up the cable car that we regretted again, but this time that we had not forked out the money for jeeps.
Climbing funicular It cost our family 74 euros (Egorka is free). At the top, as usual, there is a restaurant and a souvenir shop. They rent boots and raincoats to everyone in need. But we didn’t need all this. We only dressed the children in their raincoats against the wind, but we ourselves were not cold even in shorts and T-shirts.
Height is 2500 m. Our young tourists conquer new and new heights every time!
All the restaurants at the station show films about the eruptions of Etna. We were so impressed that we purchased the disc.
Descent down, last look at the side craters. Here we found the remaining members of our team below and had lunch in an excellent restaurant Rifugio Sapienza. We were fed very tasty here, and the bill turned out to be completely adequate, not a bit overpriced, as could have been the case due to the popularity of this place among tourists.
After the volcano we went to the gorge Alcantara(Alcantara). There we planned to take a walk and cool off in the river. The navigator showed very little mileage, but a very long time. We followed the signs to the town of Etna Zafferana, near the outskirts of which lava flows stopped during the last eruptions. And although we were driving along the road almost alone, we really couldn’t pick up speed and the descent took a long time. We drove through Zaferana, then through another town with one-way traffic and narrow streets. When we finally tried to get onto the highway, we somehow went down below it, and again there were small towns that we were forced to drive through, wasting time. At some point, we accidentally emerged onto a toll section of the highway. It seemed to us that it was simply organized by local residents in order to profit from tourists. In the end, Giardini Naxos appeared on our way, through which the road went up - to Francocastello and the one we were looking for Alcantara. As a result, it took us more than an hour and a half to get there, and I was already starting to be afraid that we would arrive at closing time. When we pulled into the park’s parking lot, I myself was no longer glad that I was fooled by the small mileage and drove here.
Well, in general, I wasn’t much mistaken - there was only an hour and a half left before closing. The cashier divided our group of different ages into families, adults and infants. They have 2+2 tickets, which saved us about 5 euros. The visit consists of a walk through the garden of the park and the river beach itself Alcantara. We, of course, were all dying from the heat, and, in general, we didn’t really need the garden at that moment, but the cultural program had to be completed. Moreover, the descent to the water was not so easy. While walking through the gardens, we were accompanied by the sound of waterfalls and rushing water, which made the walk doubly difficult in the heat.
The Alcantara Gorges are deep crevices in rocks and cliffs formed by repeated eruptions of Mount Etna and located near Taormina, in eastern Sicily. A river of the same name flows along the bottom of a gorge of amazing beauty, which from May to August significantly decreases in volume, but does not dry out completely. At the same time, the water in the river is always cool, which attracts hundreds of people who want to cool off on hot summer days. The length of the river is only 52 km, and the basin area is 573 sq. km. Its source is located on the southern slopes of the Nebrodi mountain range at an altitude of 1250 meters.
The name of the river comes from the Arabic word "al-Kantarah", which means "bridge", - in ancient Roman times a bridge was thrown across the water stream, later discovered by the Saracens. Several thousand years ago, lava blocked the river bed during the eruption of Etna. Since the lava, when combined with water, cooled much faster than it does under natural conditions, it crystallized in the form of columns. Then, over the course of many hundreds of years, the river made its way through these columns, as a result of which the majestic and formidable Alcantara gorge was formed, up to 25 meters deep and 2 to 5 meters wide. In 2001, this territory was included in the river park of the same name.
The entire Alcantara Valley is covered with amazing shrubs and flowers that delight even experienced “botanists”. You can take a look at the entire picturesque area by going up to a specially equipped observation deck, which is open from seven in the morning to seven in the evening. The gorge itself makes a special impression on tourists - sharp cliffs of basalt of a bizarre shape, numerous waterfalls crashing on the stones and scattering millions of splashes leave an unforgettable impression.
The most active was and remains side Mojo. More than 2 thousand years ago, he was so active that he split the mountain, and his lava flowed through the resulting deep gorge, which is now called the “Alcantara Gorge.” Later, water rushed into the gorge and polished the black basalt rock of the solidified lava to a shine, giving it bizarre shapes. And now the steep walls of the gorge resemble miraculous baroque.
According to recognition, the deep Alcantara gorge and the river of the same name flowing in its valley are the most interesting natural sites in Sicily. In summer, unlike other Sicilian rivers, the Alcantara does not dry out, although it decreases significantly in volume. Its waters are always cool (even in the hottest heat), and its shores are decorated with amazing plants.
But even more surprising is that there is a section of the river called Gole dell’Alcantara, where all the beauties come together. It is here that the Alcantara River splits into many waterfalls, which, crashing against sharp black basalt cliffs, scatter like splashes of champagne.
The panorama of the deep gorge opens from the observation deck. The site is open to the public from 7 am to 7 pm. For a modest fee (3 euros), you can not only admire the most beautiful panorama, but also take the elevator and go down from the platform into the gorge.
Before entering the gorge, rubber boots are available for rent to protect your feet from sharp rocks and icy water.
However, the cold water of Alcantara does not frighten tourists, and many swim, enjoying the cool oasis in hot Sicily.
How to get to the Alcantara Gorge:
1. By Interbus from (from Central Station, Airport Bus Station and Borsellino Station) and.
2. By car, take the A18 highway until the Giardini-Naxos turnoff. Next you need to follow road 185 to the town of Francavilla di Sicilia. The gorge will be marked with the road sign Gole dell’Alcantara.
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Nice places, beautiful! But I would still recommend this excursion to those who have already seen the “main” attractions of Sicily.
Gorges
The Alcantara River carries its chilling feet of water through the basalt canyon and promises virginity and masculinity to those who dare to plunge into it. The place is very picturesque and is especially popular with local residents in the summer heat!
By the way: A scene from Matteo Garrone's film Penny Dreadful was filmed here.
In summer, body rafting is offered in the gorges (for an additional fee of 40-50 euros for 2.5 hours).
Entrance to Alcantara Park for an additional fee. fee. In high season: adults - 13 euros, children 6 - 12 years old - 9 euros, under 6 years old - free.
Beauty, not a town: mountains, the Middle Ages, Baroque, Lauria Castle growing right out of the rock, and there are almost never tourists there. Local flavor 100%.
There you can also taste local cheeses. Add. fee - 5 euros per person.
Organizational details
- Duration of the excursion: about 4 o'clock.
- Guide fee: 200 euros.
- Additional costs and transfers are paid separately.
- Meeting point: Your hotel.
- Start time: 10.00
- If necessary, you can arrange a car with a driver. The cost of transport varies depending on the number of people and the place of departure.