Grotta del Lago - Cave of the lake

The "Grotta del Lago" (Cave of the lake) is located on the north Mount Etna side, at 2200 meters above sea level, in the "Sciara del follone" area. It was created during the eruption of 1620, its name is due to a puddle used by shepards to water the sheeps. It is not easy to reach: here we describe the path from the Grotta del Gelo, its about 1,5 km one way. It'is probably possible to reach this cave also from the Timpa Rossa refuge.

Let's start from the Ice Cave. Turn your back to the cave and start walking on the left, after a few meters there's a recent magma field on the right, with some red signs indicating the path. This section is a bit difficult to walk on, but after this the trail become quite easy until you get to the cave entrance.

Although we are at the end of August, the entrance is still full of snow. Inside the cave the are many ice crystals, but the "lake chamber" is dried. We don't know whether this is due to the season or to some change in the cave structure, Mount Etna caves evolve continuously. A new opening on the ceiling could cause an air flow, or a fissure in the ground could generate a water leak leading to this result.

The cave is very long, within it the ceiling collapsed in many points. We suggest you not to go too further inside, but just observe the lake room and the ice crystals in the first section.