Walking in Sicily

A walking guidebook with 46 graded routes in Sicily, including the Madonie and Nebrodi mountains, the Egadi and Aeolian islands and Mount Etna. Most walks take 3-4 hours, plus some short easy strolls as well as long mountain traverses. Interesting varied terrain, including river valleys, coastal walks, ancient ruins, volcanoes and mountain peaks.

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Overview

This guidebook includes 46 walks throughout Sicily and the adjoining Aeolian and Egadi Islands. Particular highlights include walks on Mount Etna, and through the Madonie and Nebrodi mountains. Walks range from 2 to 23km long, and are graded according to difficulty and terrain, so the right walk can be easily found, whether for a short family stroll around Medieval Erice, or the challenging trail that traverses the lava and ash-covered Mount Etna.
This guidebook combines detailed route description and mapping with fascinating insight into the history and geology of Sicily and the many points of interest along the way. Whether the active volcanic rumblings of Stromboli, or elaborate coastal forts, to prehistoric cave paintings; Sicily is home to some of Europe's greatest natural and historical wonders.
The guidebook also includes practical information on travel to and around Sicily, the best time to go, as well as accommodation advice, information on facilities along the way, and a useful Italian-English glossary. The result is an ideal companion to explore all that Sicily has to offer the walker.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction

Background
Walking and Maps
Parks, Reserves and Protected Areas
When to Go
What to Take
Emergencies
Reaching Sicily
Travelling Around Sicily
Accommodation
Telephones
Food and Drink
Tourist Information
Flowers and Trees
Wildlife
The Northeast Coast

1 Taormina and the Castello Saraceno
2 Castelmola
The Alcantara River Valley

3 Monte Mojo
4 Francavilla and the River
Monte Etna

5 The Craters of Monte Silvestri
6 Monte Nero degli Zappini Loop
7 Schiena dell’Asino
8 The Monti Sartorio Circuit
9 Monte Nero Circuit and Grotta dei Lamponi
10 Monte Etna: The North–South Traverse
Monti Iblei and the Southeast Corner

11 Wondrous Pantalica and its Necropolises
12 The Pantalica River Walk
13 Cava Grande del Cassibile
14 Noto Antica
15 Riserva Naturale di Vendicari
16 Isola delle Correnti
17 Cava d’Ispica
Antiquities in the West

18 The White Cliffs of Eraclea Minoa
19 The Stones of Selinunte
20 Mozia and its Lagoon
Le Isole Egadi (Egadi Islands)

21 Favignana by Bicycle
22 Levanzo and its Cave Paintings
23 Marettimo’s Coastal Path
24 Marettimo’s High Level Circuit
The Glorious Northwest

25 Marvellous Medieval Erice
26 Riserva Naturale di Monte Cofano
27 Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro
Palermo Surrounds

28 Palermo’s Monte Pellegrino
29 Monte Iato
30 Piana degli Albanesi
31 Bosco della Ficuzza
32 Rocca Busambra
Le Madonie (Madonie Mountains)

33 Cefalù and its Rocca
34 Isnello to Gratteri
35 Pizzo Carbonara
36 Piano Cervi
37 Vallone Madonna degli Angeli
38 Piano Sempria Sentiero Natura
I Nebrodi (Nebrodi Mountains)

39 Biviere di Cesarò
40 Floresta to Randazzo
Le Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)

41 Vulcano’s Gran Cratere
42 Lipari’s Castello and Southern Headlands
43 Lipari’s San Calogero Spa
44 Salina’s Monte Fossa delle Felci
45 Stromboli – Ascent to the Volcano
46 Stromboli Loop

Appendix I Italian–English Glossary
Appendix II Further Reading

Updates

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Aug 2018

Walk 26 - Monte Cofano. The coastal walk under the steep parts of the mountain is closed due dangerous rock fall. The pass across the saddle is still open. (Thanks to Andrew Lumsden)

June 2018

p84 Walk 11: 2nd paragraph - turn left (east) at the second fork for the 'Oratorio Bizantino'.

p86 Walk 12: annual winter flooding means the route may change so stick to the old railway line if in doubt and return the same way.

(Thanks to Andrea Grimshaw)

p158 Walk 28 - the map is no longer available

p174 Walk 31 Access: the AST bus to Ficuzza departs from Palermo's Stazione Centrale railway station

p249 Walk 46: CAI path markers are reportedly gone or illegibile.

The Walk: From Scari turn L past the Liberty Lines office to Via Roma.

(Thanks to Sandra Bardwell)

Reviews

Linda, July 2014

My husband and I had a completely different experience as tourists in Sicily as a result of having your hiking guide. It MADE our trip. Thanks for the excellent work!

Henry, by email, November 2014

"Everyone in our walking group ha[s] acquired a copy of your excellent guide Walking in Sicily... Without exception the walks we adopted and in some cases adapted from your book provided stunning views and an amazing diversity of scenery and vegetation. We were bowled over by the magnificent trees, especially in the Madonie range, great oaks, sycamores, holm oaks, beech and, of course, the giant holly by the Rifugio Crispi... The consolation for the long climb up past the Stations of the Cross was happily a superb lunch at 'Al Saraceno' restaurant.

The lunch made a splendid finish to what everyone agreed was one of our best ever walks, especially for those who never dreamt that Sicily offered so many treasures - scenery, wine, food, charming little hill towns, the list could go on .. So, thank you, Gillian, for all your good advice and for an inspirational book."

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