The Alcantara River Gorges are one of the most famous tourist attractions in eastern Sicily. Huge walls of lava that fall sheer over the course of a restless, lively river, with a funny Arabic name (al-qantarah actually means “the bridge”) . The river crosses a valley with a thousand historical faces, at the end of which is Taormina. Tourists do admire Alcantara and its gorges either by following the hiking trails on the edge of the rocky walls or by descending – via the elevators of the tourist center – to the bottom of the canyon, to the river’s course. In both cases, it is exciting to find yourself in this temple of nature. Trees, water and lava… but what kind of lava? Does this place have anything to do with Etna?

How the Gorges were born

The Alcantara Gorges are the result of a very slow work of the river that flows in the valley north of Etna. Right from the northern side of the volcano, thousands years ago, eruptions of basaltic lava were emitted that poured down the valley, blocking the course of the river in several points. The water, in an attempt to find its way back, began to corrode the rock, digging out its new bed between them over many centuries. This is why the Alcantara is so twisted and tends to sink as the slope of the land increases. For many years, geologists thought that the lava of the gorges was the product of the eruption of Mount Mojo, a large cone located right in the Alcantara valley. Now, however, we know that these are three different eruptions originating from fractures much further upstream.

Alcantara Gorges and Etna

Is there -therefore- a link between the famous tourist site and the great volcano Mount Etna ? Yes, because the lava that formed the gorges dug by the Alcantara river derives from three different eruptions emitted from the northern flank of Etna at different times. So, in its extreme extension towards the north, the volcano has left its traces here too.

But the link between the gorges and Etna is also a tourist one. Usually the two sites are connected in the itineraries proposed by tour operators. The excursion to Etna is completed with that to the gorges of the Alcantara river and ends with the classic visit – or lunch or dinner – to Giardini and Taormina. For tourists, therefore, the Alcantara gorges and Etna are the two points of a unique and beautiful route! Certainly directly linked.

Admiring Etna from Alcantara

The Alcantara gorges are so deep (over 50 meters) that Etna cannot be seen from the bottom. But before the river falls into the canyon it flows for several kilometers on a flat path that winds along the valley passing right under the medieval castle of Castiglione di Sicilia. From that point it is possible to admire the peak of Etna that emerges from behind the town’s roofs creating a truly exciting panorama, especially during eruptions!

You can also admire Mount Etna from Motta Camastra which is the reference municipality where the tourist complex of the Alcantara gorges is located. Going up towards the medieval old hamlet on top of a hill you can see, beyond the peaks of the Peloritani mountains, also the peak of Etna with the four smoking craters. Similarly from the northern side of Etna – from the high mountain track that starts from Rifugio Brunek – you can admire the entire Alcantara valley with the small medieval villages along. (PHOTOS BY G.MUSUMECI)