Climbing Mt Etna with Gruppo Guide – Sicily, Italy

July 2023

Climbing Mt Etna with Gruppo Guide – Sicily, Italy

We could not visit Sicily without exploring the famous Mt Etna. Etna in Greek literally translates to “I burn”. Mt Etna is one of the most active volcanos in the world with half of the major eruptions occurring in the last 100 years – which is quite recent in the volcano’s 2.5 million year history. With the exception of 2007, Mt Etna has eruptions at least once every year since 2001.  Standing over 11,000 feet tall, it is the highest mediterranean island mountain and covers over 460 square miles of the island of Sicily with a 90 mile circumference. Despite the danger, there are still people that live along the base of the volcano with over a quarter of Sicily’s population living there. There have been catastrophic eruptions in the past that have caused significant damage to both property and life – most worst being March of 1669 where over 20,000 people died – but fortunately the more recent eruptions even this year have been contained. 

There is little to no notice when the volcanic activity occurs but there are many alerts in place to notify if it does occur. The most recent eruption was in May of 2023 – and as of writing this post, it erupted again in August. 

I was recommended a tour with Gruppo Guide and there were many benefits of booking with them. The biggest advantage was this company provided all the gear for the hike. Since we packed so light for this trip, packing hiking gear for one day of the trip was not practical. This company provides the hiking shoes, socks, jacket, helmet, and backpack so it really was all inclusive for our needs. Since we did not have a way to get to the base of Mt Etna, Gruppo also arranged for a driver for an additional fee to get us to and from the excursion. 

While I would have loved to have completed the summit hike, summit hikes were temporarily on hold due to volcanic activity so we signed up for the 3000 meter hike instead as that was the highest we could safely climb. 

We arrived to a very active base camp where multiple tours were preparing their groups for the ascent and many people self guiding as well. While you can visit on your own, you can only go up to the cable car and are not permitted to hike any further so if you want a closer look, you have to go with a guide. I feel like a place like this really benefits from having a guide. 

The drive out to Mt Etna from Taormina is pretty straightforward but I am glad we did not rent a Vespa for this journey – it would have taken twice as long and the switchbacks to the base camp of Mt Etna were definitely better inside a vehicle. It felt like we were on another planet. 

When we arrived at Gruppo’s base, we checked in and we were given hiking shoes and socks, a jacket, and a backpack for our things. We were instructed to bring water and lunch, sunscreen, and to wear long plants but to not wear contacts. We did not have long pants packed but for the time of year we visited we did not need it. In fact, we did not even need the jackets and ended up carrying them the entire time. I think there are times where these are essential as the temperature is much colder and the wind is higher at the top of the mountain but the middle of summer not a cloud in the sky day it was not a problem. I will say – not wearing contacts was essential as the lava rock and dust kick up was constant and we were pretty covered with it when we were done.  

Out group was divided up into two groups and the divide was by language – these guides are so talented to not only be so knowledgeable about the volcano but also can accommodate several languages for everyone to enjoy. Our groups ended up being French speaking and English/Italian speaking. The tour starts with a cable car journey from the base camp to 2,500 meter. Then we got into a large jeep that took up another 250 meters up. When we got off the jeep, the rest of the journey was by foot and with a guide only. We stopped and learned about the history of the volcano, the terrain, and learned about our journey together for the rest of the day. The views were epic already and it was wild to think of how we saw this point from Taormina and now we were climbing it. Our guide mentioned they had heard some rumbling overnight so it was possible that there could be some activity to witness during our day (spoiler – the volcano behaved and nothing happened). We learned that the smoke coming out of the top of the volcano was actually steam and this is a positive sign that there is release of pressure from the volcano, kind of like burping, and this helps keep the pressure from erupting. 

What was so great about this tour is while there is a bit of climbing, we would take frequent breaks as a group to learn more about Mt Etna. The terrain here was tough – it was almost like walking in snow where you sink with each step. 

We got to our highest point at 3000 meters were we got to observe the most recent lava flow from the eruption in May – the label is still hot! Out guide demonstrated how a piece of paper ignited upon contact. We could not stay too long in this area as the bottom of our shoes would melt. It is wild to feel the heat from the what appear to be cooled down rocks but they maintain their heat insanely well. the views from here were incredible – you can see exactly where the lava flowed out of the crater at the top. 

The next part took us away from the top of Mt Etna and along the perimeter of the crater which while it was wide enough, it was just wide enough. We then got to travel down a bit in the valley and enjoy our lunch. We got simple prosciutto and cheese sandwiches in town the night before which hit the spot. It was so surreal to be eating lunch on Mt Etna with this stunning view – this was simply spectacular. 

We were given about 20 minutes here before moving on to the descent portion of our hike and this was the part that separated some people from our group, but our guide was fantastic at handling it and getting everyone down safely. This really reminded me of our climb down in New Zealand at Tongariro Crossing. It was tough as each step your foot sunk deep into the tiny rocks so it was best to be light on your feet and to slid down. I was shocked how well it worked for me since I am typically not ok going down steep portions of trails. Though I think it is funny how there really is not a “trail” here per-say which is why the guide is so essential. Once I got the hang of sliding down, it was pretty easy. The only problem is that we all had tiny lava rocks in our shoes that were excruciatingly painful so we all had to empty our shoes. Lava rocks are no joke – they really hurt. 

The last portion of our hike was exploring lava tunnels. These were super cool formations that were created from the 2002 eruption and somehow, these were also hot! Steam was still coming off of these and you could definitely feel the heat. 

The group opted to climb up one more crater which did not add much to our time and allowed us to get our final up close views of the top of Mt Etna and the surrounding area below. 

To end our time at Mt Etna, we boarded the cable car back down and we returned all of our gear. Our driver was waiting for our return and safely brought us back to Taormina. We were definitely tired after such a long and physical day but wow, experiencing Mt Etna like this is a must do if you are able to when visiting Taormina. During our nightly stroll through the town, we gazed at Mt Etna’s peak in the distance, steam continuously flowing out the top, and just amazed that we were actually there only a few hours earlier. This is a must-do when visiting Sicily!

Continue reading all the details of our trip – here!

The Perfect One Week Itinerary for Sicily – here!

To see our full itinerary – here!

My complete packing list for Sicily – here!

See all blog posts for Sicily – here!