In this section we'll describe just the ascent towards the Montagnola; then, if you want to get the central crater you can follow the path we tracked reaching the Montagnola by cableway.
This time the path will be entirely covered by walking; you'll save the cableway ticket, the physical effort is quite higher but the panorama really deserves it.
We start from the Schiena dell'Asino path, rising it as described on the nature trail section, crossing the bar and the pinewood . It's an easy walk until you get the Bove valley edge, where you can look at some nice dicchi at the bottom of the valley and in the meantime the central crater .
From now to the Montagnola's peak, the path is quite demanding with a steep ascent (gradient 30% in some sections). First section is the most difficult, you'll have to walk on some irregular stones . After that, you'll walk among the last vegetation surviving at this altitude on mount Etna. The last section of the ascent is all over the black volcanic ash.
We are at 2550 meters above sea level, on Montagnola's peak . On the last 2 km the average gradient is about 25%. In front of us there is mount Escrivà and the off-road path, if you want to go on top you can keep walking following the tracks from Montagnola to Torre del Filosofo.
Last observation on the path: if you follow our descending path, you'll land at Crateri Sivestri, so you'll have to walk one more km on asphalted road towards Schiena dell'Asino departure point to get the car. If you walk the whole path, you'll climb for 1000 meters difference in height and then come back, for an overall length of 16km
Point of interest: Central craters - 2001/2002 craters - Bove Valley - Silvestri craters
Difficulty: high
Difference in height: 2000 m
Maximum height: 2920 m
Length: 16 km
Duration of journey: 6 - 8 hours
Suggested season: spring - summer
Technical equipment : required