Etna and Alcantara Valley
Alcantara River Valley area is a cute territory enclosed between Etna, the biggest active Euro-Asiatic volcano and Unesco patrimony, and the natural park of Nebrodi mountains, an extended wood area. In the area there is a very particular microclimate that favours an endemic vegetation and many animal species, also some of them typical of northern country.
The unique climate influences the farming and cultivation of vegetables, specific olive oil trees qualities and many adaptive grapevine species. A large temperature range between day and night and between winter and summer forged the nature, offering to excursionist, voyagers and tourists an unique landscape, in which man hand create small architectonic masterpieces represented by small country side churches, terraces and dry stone walls, farms, mills and millstones that give an added value.
The historical villages, often displaced along the river banks on strategic hills, preserve on the summit old medieval castles and towers. Ancient footpaths and dirt roads offer an interesting way to discover an incredible place with so many suggestions and charming encounters with locals, that always find the time to tell old histories and legends, with the typical Sicilian hospitality.
Several possibilities for guided tours through marked trails are available in the area. These can be traveled on foot and by means such as bicycles, cable cars, horseback. In winter Etna becomes a renowned ski destination. The ski resort of Piano Provenzana is a magical and fascinating place that combines the beauty of the typical alpine landscape with the marine one. In fact, from its heights it is possible to admire a 360° view of a landscape ranging from the mountains to the sea.