The quieter side of the volcano. From the ski station of Piano Provenzana, a track climbs to the fissure and cones of the 2002 eruption that destroyed it; nearby, a gentle loop threads a line of 19th-century craters among silver Etna birches found nowhere else.
Most visitors go up from the south. The north side, above Linguaglossa, has fewer people, bigger pine and birch forests and some of the most dramatic recent eruption sites on the mountain.
In autumn 2002 a fissure opened on the north-east flank, and lava swept through the ski station at Piano Provenzana, at about 1,800 metres. The station has been rebuilt, and a track now climbs about 400 metres to the 2002 craters: a line of fresh cones and a fissure still raw and colourful, with views down to the Ionian coast.
The Monti Sartorius, a row of small craters formed in the eruption of 1865, are the setting for a flat one-hour loop through woods of Etna birch, a tree that grows only on this volcano. Reached from the Mareneve road, it is the best easy walk on Etna.
Both are unguided. Stay on marked tracks and check activity and weather before you go.
From the ski station, follow the track uphill across black sand and lava, with the summit ahead.
The track reaches the line of 2002 cones, stained red, yellow and white by gases. Walk along the fissure, then return the same way.
Park by the trailhead on the Mareneve road near Rifugio Citelli and follow the path into the woods.
The loop runs beside the string of small cones of 1865, through Etna birch and pine, with views up to the summit and down to the sea.
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From Catania, drive to Linguaglossa (about an hour) and up the Mareneve road to Piano Provenzana. Public transport is very limited.
Linguaglossa, Castiglione di Sicilia and Randazzo are the heart of the Etna DOC wine area: plan a tasting on the way down.
Conditions change fast at altitude. In poor visibility, stick to the main tracks or turn back. Follow any closures by the park authorities.
Etna wine in the guide →
Lifts, a 4x4 and a guided walk to the top.
The best free viewpoint over the Valle del Bove.
Pine woods round the cones of 1669.
Wading a basalt gorge, and pools in a canyon.
An old stone path down the cliff to fried fish.
Wikimedia Commons photographs are used under their licences; Pexels photographs under the Pexels licence.
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