At around 3,400 metres, Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe.
From Catania, the Strada dell'Etna road leads to the Rifugio Sapienza station at 1,995 metres, which is frequented by many tourists. The cable car that ran from there up to 2,600 metres was destroyed by the eruption in 2002. The Funivia dell'Etna cable car has been in operation since August 2004. It runs from 2,000 metres to around 2,500 metres; from there, it is possible to continue by off-road bus to around 3,000 metres.
On the way, there is a stop at a house that has been engulfed by lava.
There is a large car park and a hotel on the plateau. This is where you will find the Silvestri crater, an extinct secondary crater that tourists can walk around. When we were there, it was still free!
Like all the other tourists, we walked along the beaten track around the crater.
