Have you ever done the Tour of Etna? No, not as a cycling or car race … but a very long excursion all around the immense body of the volcano. In fact, this adventure is for a few “brave” people, for those who are really used to walking in all grounds and climate conditions and have a body trained for long-distance walk. With a perimeter of over 160 km on a diameter of 45, Mount Etna is a gigantic volcano and it takes five to seven full days to complete the route around it.

Going around Etna on the Altomontana Track

For those who go on foot, but also for those who use mountain bikes, the best way to go around Mount Etna is to follow the Pista (Track) Altomontana . This semi-circular path, which covers 42 km, makes the route much easier, leaving only the eastern side, which breaks up into Valle del Bove, to the rugged terrain of the “off-tracks”. You can enter the Altomontana from the south, Piano Vetore, or from the north side, at the Ragabo pine forest. The two points are connected by secondary roads that cut across the eastern side in the territory of Zafferana Etnea and Milo.

What you will see during the tour

The route around Etna offers panoramas that change at an incredible speed and with each change they reveal breathtaking beauty.

If you start from the south, from Piano Vetore, you will admire a vast lava plateau interspersed with thick woods. Almost “alpine” paths will take you to discover refuges such as San Giovanni Gualberto, Galvarina, Poggio la Caccia until you immerse yourself in the beech forests of Timparossa. The panorama becomes more “lunar” as you skirt large extinct craters (Monte Scavo, Monte Maletto, Monte Spagnolo, Monte Egitto) and becomes impervious and desolate in the area of the lava caves (Grotta del Gelo). Crossing rivers of rock, ancient extinct flows, is the hardest part of the route. You shall relax when you reach the pine forest of Ragabo-Brunek, in the territory of Linguaglossa. Here in fact the track ends but you can continue, to close the ring, through secondary paths that can take you to Rifugio Citelli, in Valle del Bove or towards the mountain towns (Milo and Zafferana) and then go up again, skirting the SP92, to Rifugio Sapienza.

A few kilometers beyond this refuge you return to Piano Vetore.

Tour of Etna for “lazy people”

If you are not trained or do not like sports, treat yourself to another type of “tour of Etna”. The one for lazy people! You can do it thanks to the historic Circumetnea train that, starting from the Riposto station in the north, or from Catania-Borgo in the south, covers almost the entire body of the volcano forming a large circle – interrupted only in its final part. The train makes several stops, at which you can also get off and then wait for the next vehicle to continue the route. You will visit Castiglione, Randazzo, Bronte, Adrano, Paternò … and a series of wonderful landscapes ranging from extinct craters, to woods, to citrus groves plains to old lava flows.
An interesting trip to do also with the family and children.

Useful tips

The recent eruptions of Etna, in particular the one in February 2025, have modified the path of the Altomontana, therefore the route could be longer and the travel times may not respect those indicated here.

Always check the timetable of the Circumetnea train, because due to the completion works of the Catania metro it sometimes suffers periods of stoppage or the suppression of some stages of the route. (PHOTOS BY G MUSUMECI)