I rarely prioritize nature over culture when traveling. Even with my comparatively short roster of WH sites, Mount Etna is only the fifth natural or mixed site that I visited. My better half is usually even less keen, especially whenever there is a whiff of danger – such as, for instance, going up an active volcano. Nonetheless, it was she who suggested that we modify our plans for the trip to Sicily in the late September of 2021, and take advantage of a private Jeep tour with a local guide for a half-day on the mountain. (“Jeep” is not meant here as a brand name, but rather as a generic term. Our ride was a Land Rover Defender.)

Our guide, who spent his entire life on the slopes of Etna, gave us an unparalleled overview of the volcano, driving us through various vegetation zones and lava plateaus, stopping by and hiking to several key features, and pointing out various details (that, frankly, an unprepared mind cannot possibly absorb and retain in their entirety). Some parts that we drove through you definitely cannot reach in a regular car and without guidance. Also, this being an active volcano, being led by someone able to interpret the seismic activity monitoring system was certainly reassuring (there are usually sufficient advance signals of the heightened activity, so the park would have plenty of warnings – and, likely, be closed – if there was a chance of an imminent eruption).

Etna is, of course, recognized on the WH list as the most active volcano in the world. Our mental picture of a volcanic eruption almost invariably involves a rocket blast from the conical top, but that is just one of the six different types of eruption, called Plinian – the most violent one, notably associated with Mount Vesuvius. Etna erupts differently, in the so-called Icelandic pattern, whereas effusions of molten basaltic lava flow from long parallel fissures on the flanks of the mountain more often than from its top. Such outpourings build lava plateaus and usually are not immediately threatening to people some distance away, since the lava flows fairly slowly. Unlike mountaintop eruptions, once the lava cools and hardens, it acts as a plug in the opening. Therefore, no two eruptions would occur through the same fissure. It also means that there are over 300 craters on Mount Etna all over the place, and many lava flow tunnels.

Our first stop on the tour was Grotta Cicirello, an ancient less-visited lava flow tunnel that looks and feels like a cave. We then proceeded through a variety of landscapes, shaped by thousands of years of lava deposits. At higher altitudes, the surroundings felt increasingly extraterrestrial, with mostly just the Spino Santo plant for vegetation, and the different colors of the lava rocks pointing to the varying ages of the deposits from past eruptions (the basaltic lava starts out black, but oxidation of iron turns it red after a while).

The fog was a constant feature of our visit, in some places creating an impenetrable wall between different elevations. At our main sightseeing stop, a cluster of craters called Silvestri at about 2 kilometers above sea level, the dense fog greeted us, fairly quickly lifted, came back, lifted again. We were able to observe a number of surrounding features, mounds, craters, and even glimpse Catania in the distance.

Silvestri Craters are among the most-visited attractions on Mount Etna, relatively easily accessible by car and never missed by bus tours. Overall, visiting Mount Etna is possible via self-driving and hiking, but a guided Jeep tour is a great way to become familiar with the volcano if you do not mind spending a couple of hundred dollars for a half-day excursion. Some guides may pick you up from your hotel (most likely if you are in Catania), but standard logistics involve meeting your ride somewhere at the foot of the mountain – in our case, it was on a square in Trecastagni. We met the guide at 9 in the morning, and he deposited us back to the same location around 1:30 pm. Mountain hiking shoes and extra layers of warm outer clothing were provided. Snacks and water were up to us to bring along.