Alcantara Gorges

A lava flow from a vent on Etna's flank filled this valley, and as the basalt cooled it contracted and cracked into columns; the Alcantara then cut down through the flow, exposing walls of vertical prisms up to about twenty-five metres high, in places fanned or bent where cooling was uneven. The water is snowmelt from Etna and stays cold all year, around ten to fifteen degrees. A lift and stairs descend to the streambed from the private park entrance, and a free public access point exists nearby. Body-rafting trips run upstream in wetsuits when flow allows.

What you actually see

• The basalt columns - walls of prisms formed by cooling lava.
• The cold river - Etna snowmelt running at around ten to fifteen degrees.
• The gorge floor - a walkable streambed between the columns.
• The body rafting - wetsuit trips upstream when flow permits.

When to go

May to September; the gorge floods and closes after rain and in spring melt. Water is cold year-round and wetsuits are advisable for anything beyond wading.

Honest expectations

Access closes without warning in high water. The water is genuinely cold. Two entrances exist with different prices and facilities, which confuses visitors.

Nearby

Etna rises southwest; Taormina is on the coast.