Mount Etna is probably the most active volcano in Europe and the oldest recorded active volcano in the world
Because of the hazardous nature of the summit area ascent is permitted only with a guide. Most tourists visit the south side of the mountain and walk only a short trail which does not go near the summit. We had arranged a complete traverse of the mountain starting on the north side, encircling the summit craters on the west and descending by the spectacular Valle del Bove, a great gash on the eastern side. This was very rewarding but not excessively demanding since a bus took us most of the way up. The first picture shows our arrival at the north-east crater with the summit just visible up on the left. It must be remembered that the "true" summit of Mount Etna is moveable and varies from one eruption to the next. The height is of course also variable and my selection of 3333m is just a pleasing compromise between a variety of different quoted figures. Only a week after our ascent the mountain erupted again. We were lucky. Our guide assessed the situation and decided that it was safe for us to go up to the very top. The second picture shows us coming down again and the third shows our party on the rim of the Bocca Nuova, the newest crater on the mountain.
Our week of "Sicilian Volcanoes", organized by Explore, also included a night visit to the active island of Stromboli and a climb to the spectacular crater on the island of Vulcano shown in the pictures below.
.. don't miss Boris Behncke's superb site - ITALY'S VOLCANOES: THE CRADLE OF VOLCANOLOGY
.... see more pictures at Stromboli on-line
...... or go to Etna - Live Camera
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