Walking on the crater

The south side goes up from Rifugio Sapienza and the Silvestri craters; the north side from Piano Provenzana, through forest and old flows.

Lava tubes — caves left by flowing lava — are a cold, dark counterpoint to the ash outside, and are done with lamps and a guide.

It is a mountain, not an attraction: temperature drops sharply with altitude, the wind is real, and the weather at 3,000 metres is not the weather in Catania.