The Bove Valley trail

The path "Carmelo e Riccardo" is located inside the Bove Valley. It winds inside the lava flow of 1992 that went as far as Zafferana Etnea. It is possible to divide the pathway into three distinctive segments: the descent into the valley, the track through the lava flow and the reascent from the valley.
The descent can be started from different points. In our case we decided to go through the path “Schiena dell’asino” to reach the point from which we start the descent, but it would also have been possible to use the cable car and descend through the "Canalone della Montagnola", which has yet to be tracked. From the starting point there is a steep descent along the wall, with a difference in height of 350m. Walking poles are recommended in order to get a better grip upon the soil. At the end of the descent you reach the valley where you can observe the "dicchi magmatici", this is magma that infiltrated the soil which when it collapses leaves towers of solid lava behind. The path is signalled by several small stone towers and walking sticks, but mainly it skirts the southern edge of the valley. Along the path it is possible to encounter particularly shaped lava formations which give you an idea of the strength of the volcanic eruptions. The path ends at the feet of a beech forest. The reascent is simple enough and leads you to the top of the path Acqua Rocca degli Zappini which is described in the relevant section.

On the whole to finish the trail requires about 4 hours: 1 hour in order to reach the edge of the valley (either by cable car or by Schiena dell’asino), 2 hours to travel through the valley, 30mins to reascend along the beech forest and 30mins to redescend the Acqua Rocca path.

Important: The starting point of the path DOES NOT COINCIDE with the arrival point, please organize the tour properly to avoid unexpected suprises (2 cars at least required in our opinion). The distance between starting point and arrival point is almost 8km, please plan the hike carefully.