From the centre of Nicolosi, it is possible to reach the headquarters of the Etna Park. These are worth a visit, as they are located in an ancient monastery. The trail then goes up secondary roads and cart roads to Monte Arso, an impressive extinct volcanic cone that dominates the entire southern slope. Then it crosses partially built-up areas until it reaches the nice rural village of Tarderia, a hamlet of Pedara. Meanwhile, the track has entered the territory of Trecastagni and now touches Casa della Capinera, which was recently renovated to create a Park\u2019s reception centre featuring a restaurant and an exhibition area. A detour allows visiting Monte Ilice, a magnificent lateral crater dating back to the year 1000. The last part of the stage descends to the centre of Zafferana Etnea through small roads and paths in the areas where the wood has retaken over ancient cultivated lands.<\/p>\n
After leaving the town, which offers multiple possibilities for overnight stays, the track immediately climbs up on a paved road asphalted to Contrada Dagalone. Hence, a mule track begins that offers clear evidence of the activities that once characterised the medium slopes of the volcano, when lava fields were colonised to plant vineyards up to a thousand metres above sea level. Proceeding along the mule track, the trail meets a detour, which, in about ten minutes, allows hikers to observe one of the most fascinating natural monuments of Etna: the Ilice di Carrinu, an over 700-year-old holm oak with a vigorous crown that overlooks a now ruined house. Returning to the mule track, after getting past the pleasant town of Piano Bello and walking along the Valle del Bove it is possible to enjoy beautiful views of the summit area. At the height of Monte Fontane, there is a small road that in a short time leads to the Casolare di Pietracannone and then – after a short section of provincial road – to the Magazzeni area. Here are several accommodation facilities located in the middle of the hazel groves.<\/p>\n
The route then passes through the craters of 1928. These generated the impetuous eruption that led to the destruction of the town of Mascali. The track then encounters a number of votive altars that remember the faith of those who, on that occasion, had their lands spared from the fury of the volcano. Those adequately equipped with a pocket lamp may also enter the eruptive fissure. Further on, the trail enters the State Forestry Property in an area mainly characterised by a vast Turkey oak wood. Entering the territory of Piedimonte Etneo, the trail continues on a moderate ascent up to Monte Crisimo and its panoramic forest that deserves a short stop. To finish the 3rd<\/sup> stage, it is possible to easily cross the lava fields until the trail meets the tall centuries-old Ragabo pine tree woods, where are several buildings available for overnight stay. In the final part of the day, the Sentiero delle Ginestre uses a part of the ancient paved road used to transport timber.<\/p>\n From the almost 1,500 m of altitude of the Ragabo pinewood, the trail descends down to Linguaglossa (550 m) on dirt roads that initially touches M. Corruccio (the cave of the same name is a must-see) and then crosses a large area once cultivated and today fully taken over again by wild vegetation. In some sections there is also an old transhumance \u201ctrazzera<\/em>\u201d used by shepherds to transfer the flocks at the end of each season. Once down to the so-called \u201cQuota Mille road\u201d, hikers enter the lava field of 1923, which covered a large cultivated area, to walk out in the open until the track meets the S.S. 120 road near a small, disused station of the Circumetnea Railway. Hence, it turns to reach Linguaglossa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the centre of Nicolosi, it is possible to reach the headquarters of the Etna Park. These are worth a visit, as they are located in an ancient monastery. The trail then goes up secondary roads and cart roads to Monte Arso, an impressive extinct volcanic cone that dominates the entire southern slope. Then it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2807","sentiero","type-sentiero","status-publish","hentry","description-off"],"acf":{"sentieri":[{"ID":996,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2019-11-12 15:21:28","post_date_gmt":"2019-11-12 14:21:28","post_content":"L\u2019escursione nella Pista Altomontana rester\u00e0 impressa nella memoria del visitatore del Parco come un\u2019esperienza unica, ponendolo a contatto con un ambiente straordinario che offre una variet\u00e0 stupefacente di paesaggi quali colate, coni secondari e avventizi e cavit\u00e0 laviche uniche nel loro genere. Il percorso si sviluppa all\u2019interno del Demanio Forestale lungo una pista di servizio dell\u2019Azienda Foreste ad una quota media di 1750 m s.l.m. Il sentiero, lungo i versanti occidentale e settentrionale del vulcano, propone all\u2019escursionista un affascinante spaccato della natura e della biodiversit\u00e0 vegetale del Parco dell\u2019Etna, dei suoi boschi, delle lave antiche e recenti del vulcano e dei suoi panorami pi\u00f9 suggestivi. \u00c8 percorribile in tutte le stagioni dell\u2019anno, anche se in inverno, l\u2019eventuale presenza di neve e\/o di nebbia, comporter\u00e0 un aumento del grado di difficolt\u00e0 e, pertanto, la Pista andr\u00e0 affrontata da persone esperte e adeguatamente attrezzate. Il percorso intercetta gran parte dei sentieri della rete sentieristica del parco, quali: 704, 705, 707, 708, 710, 712, 713, 714, 716, 717, 718, 719, 720, 724, 726, 732, 734, 735, 739, 741, 755, 782 e 786B. Diversi rifugi gestiti dall\u2019Azienda Regionale Foreste Demaniali sono dislocati lungo tutta la Pista Altomontana, garantendo la possibilit\u00e0 di riparo agli escursionisti data la lunghezza e la durata del percorso.","post_title":"Pista Altomontana (Sentiero Italia)","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"pista-altomontana-sentiero-italia","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-03-18 09:52:47","post_modified_gmt":"2020-03-18 08:52:47","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.unescoparcoetna.it\/sentieri\/pista-altomontana-sentiero-italia\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"sentiero","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"parcheggi":"","grotte":"","rifugi":"","galleria":false,"lunghezza":"18","dislivello_massimo":"850","tempo_di_percorrenza":"7-8 ore","difficolta":"medio-alto\/E","percorribilita":"ottima (trekking\/bici)","informazioni_utili":"Ogni diramazione dal percorso principale \u00e8 indicata dalla caratteristica segnaletica del Club Alpino Italiano mentre lungo tutta la pista \u00e8 possibile trovare diversi segni di conforto a suggerire la direzione da seguire. Si consiglia a tutti gli escursionisti di non uscire dal percorso segnalato, di non gettare rifiuti e di non recare disturbo a vegetazione e\/o animali.","relation":"8917171","id_sentiero":"732","naturalistici":"","panoramici":"","punti_generici":"","colore":"","punto_di_partenza":{"sentiero_di_partenza":false,"altezza_punto_di_partenza":""},"punto_di_arrivo":{"sentiero_di_arrivo":false,"altezza_punto_di_arrivo":""}},"yoast_head":"\n