Etna trip
DAY 1 AIRPORT – AGRITURISMO TERRAVECCHIA (Castellana Sicula)
Transfer from the airport to the Agriturismo “Terravecchia”, near the village of Castellana Sicula. The drive will take about two hours. Once there, our guests will have the chance, depending on time, season and weather conditions, to spend some time at the swimming pool: time to relax, take a bath, enjoy the view of the countryside, and the friendly atmosphere that characterizes this place. A reach dinner will be the best welcome to Sicily and a good way to wish a wonderful week to our guests, who will have the chance to enjoy the local cuisine and taste km0 products.
DAY 2 AGRITURISMO TERRAVECCHIA (Castellana Sicula) – TURISMO RURALE VILLA RAINO’ (Gangi)
After breakfast, customers are invited to take part in a short briefing with the guides, with a presentation of the horses and an explanation about how to have a better approach to them. Following the assignment of the horses, we will leave to discover the Madonie Mountain. We will ride through woods and fields, crossing some rocky paths, until we’ll reach an old roman trail that goes up to the ancient village of Petralia Soprana. Then an old “trazzera” (large roads realized under the Spanish domination to facilitate people moving animals during the transumance) will bring the riders to the picnic place.
Here we’ll meet the minibus, and after a light lunch and a short siesta we will get on the horses again and ride to the next accommodation. After a couple of hours immersed in the typical High Madonie’s landscapes, our first day will end at an ancient baronal estate, now used as a country hotel. According to the time and weather conditions, there will be the chance to use the swimming pool. A gourmet dinner will follow, savoring the amazing recipes of Aldo and his wife.
DAY 3 TURSIMO RURALE VILLA RAINO’ (Gangi) – MASSERIA MONTE SOPRANO (Capizzi)
After breakfast we get on the saddle and, leaving behind the expanse of cereal fields that characterize the area, we begin our ascent towards Nebrodi Mountains. A large road that runs to the top of high hills and goes through the Natural Reserve “Sambuchetti – Campanito”, leads the group until the picnic place. After a nice siesta we will start the ride down the hills along the side of Monte Soprano, until we’ll reach the homonymous farmhouse. Here according to the time and weather conditions, there will be the chance to use the swimming pool again. The accommodation is not only a hotel, but also a big farm well known for its good production of meat and cheese. For this reason, during the dinner cooked by the “Mom”, we’ll have the chance to taste local products.
DAY 4 MASSERIA MONTE SOPRANO (Capizzi) – VILLA MIRAGLIA RESORT (Cesarò)
After breakfast the group will ride to Capizzi, an ancient village at the gates of Nebrodi Park. We’ll stop for a short break in the town and then continue the climb till the road known as “Dorsale dei Nebrodi”, a large trail that runs on top of the mounts and through majestic forests. This trail will be followed for the next two days. We will have packed lunch for picnic, because there are no chances for the minibus to reach that area.Among ancient Beechwood, amazing landscapes and breathtaking views of Etna Volcano and
AEolian Islands, we’ll get to Villa Miraglia Resort. This can be considered an island of comfort in the middle of nowhere on top of Nebrodi Mountains. A gourmet dinner cooked by the chef Gianluca Barbagallo, with his reinterpretation of local cuisine, based on seasonal products.
DAY 5 VILLA MIRAGLIA RESORT (Cesarò) – FUCINA DI VULCANO (Maletto)
During these days riders will be completely immersed in the mystical beauty of the park, with its forests and mountains. Staying at altitude, we will go across the second part of the “Dorsale” and meet four lakes: “Maulazzo”, “Biviere”, “Cartolari” and “Trearie”. Crossing woods there is also the possibility to meet some of the “Sanfratellani” horses: mighty creatures predominantly black that lives in Nebrodi area. As the previous day there will be packed lunch, for the same reasons. During the afternoon we’ll cross some places where one has the feeling of being able to touch the Etna with a finger. Then, crossing the “Masseria dell’Azienda Foreste Demaniali” we will go to the place where horses will pass the night. Customers will be moved with a short transfer to the hotel Fucina di Vulcano.
DAY 6 FUCINA DI VULCANO (Maletto) – FUCINA DI VULCANO (Maletto)
After breakfast we will drive back to the place where we left the horses. It’s a shorter day compared to the others, and also a bit faster. We’ll go down to the valley of Flascio River, and cross galopping the “Natural Reserve of Gurrida Lake”. Then the group will start to go up to the slopes of the Volcano through the typical agricultural landscape, until the A area of Etna Park. Here we will stop in the “Natural Reserve of Monte la Nave”, where we’ll have the possibility to leave the horses free in a huge paddock. After lunch there will be a short transfer with the minibus to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Gourmet dinner with light recipes of the chef Sandro Chiù. This will be the last dinner together with the guides.
DAY 7 FUCINA DI VULCANO (Maletto) – HOTEL RAGABO
This is the last day of the riding trip. As soon as we’ll reach the large track that goes all around Etna, the climb will start. Here riders will have the chance to admire the typical landscape of the volcano, always changing. Packed lunch for picnic. Among more or less recent lava flows and coniferous and beech woods, we will reach one of the lateral craters. The climb of the Volcano, and also the trail we take, depend- on weather conditions. Then we will come down to the meeting point where we’ll find the track that will bring our horses home. With a short transfer, our guests will reach their last accommodation. Here, during a short break at the bar together with the guides, there will be time to say goodbye before the departure. Then guides will start their trip back home, together with our horses.
DAY 8 HOTEL RAGABO – AIRPORT
Transfer with the minibus to the airport. The time of departure will be set according to the first flight.
