Full Description
The go-to Sicily travel guide travel guide for discovering the best walks and car tours.
Strap on your boots and discover Sicily on foot with the Sunflower Sicily travel guide. And on the days when your feet may have had enough, enjoy some spectacular scenery on one of our legendary car tours.
Inside the Sunflower Sicily walking guide book you'll find:
70 long and short walks for all ages and abilities - each walk is graded so you can easily match your ability to the level of walk
Topographical walking maps - give you a clear sense of the surrounding terrain
Free downloadable gps tracks - for the techies
Satnav guidance to walk starts for motorists
8 car tours and fold-out touring map - for easy reference on your tour
Strolls to idyllic picnic spots - enjoy our recommendations for where to picnic along the way
Timetables for public transport - ideal if you want to link two walks or avoid hiring a car on your holiday
Online update service for the latest information
The Sunflower Sicily guide is indispensable for hiking in Sicily or seeing Sicily by car. Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean rewards the countryside lover with its magnificent landscapes. Our author, Peter Amann, knows the island intimately; he leads walking groups on Sicily and works for the preservation of its monuments. There is enough material in this book for several holidays. For those touring Sicily by car, the eight car tours (mostly circular and covering 2000 km) follow little-used secondary roads wherever possible. If you're walking in Sicily, the routes are as varied in length and grade as the landscape itself - a distillation of the best on the island. Whatever your age or ability we've got some glorious walks and car tours to ensure you have a memorable holiday in Sicily.
Whether you tour Sicily by car or explore on foot, we look forward to showing you around.
Contents
Preface 5
Recommended books; Acknowledgements 7
Getting about 9
Picnicking 9
TOURING BY CAR 17
AROUND MOUNT ETNA (TOUR 1) 18
Catania (centre) · Nicolosi · Rifugio Sapienza · Piano Provenzana · Bronte · Adrano · Catania (ring road)
TAORMINA, THE PELORITANI MOUNTAINS AND THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS (TOUR 2) 22
Taormina · (Forza d'Agrò · Alì) · Messina · Milazzo · (Lipari · Vulcano) · Milazzo · Novara di Sicilia · Castiglione di Sicilia · Linguaglossa · Fiumefreddo · Taormina
THE NEBRODI MOUNTAINS (TOUR 3) 25
San Fratello · Portella Femmina Morta · Cesarò · Castello Maniace · Randazzo · Floresta · Galati Mamertino · Alcara li Fusi · Sant'Agata di Militello
CEFALÙ AND THE MADONIE MOUNTAINS (TOUR 4) 28
Cefalù · Gibilmanna · Castelbuono · Geraci Siculo · Gangi · Petralia Soprana · Petralia Sottana · Polizzi Generosa · Piano Battaglia · Isnello · Cefalù
PALERMO AND THE WEST (TOUR 5) 31
Palermo · Monreale · Segesta · Scopello · Erice · Trapani · Marsala · Selinunte · S. Giuseppe Iato · Palermo
BETWEEN PALERMO AND AGRIGENTO (TOUR 6) 36
Palermo · Piana degli Albanesi · Ficuzza · Corleone · Prizzi · Palazzo Adriano · Caltabelotta · Sciacca · Eraclea Minoa · Agrigento · Sant'Angelo Muxaro · Cammarata · Caccamo · Solunto · Palermo
CENTRAL SICILY (TOUR 7) 42
Agrigento · Caltanissetta · Enna · Aidone · Morgantina · Piazza Armerina · Villa del Casale · S. Michele di Ganzaria · Caltagirone · Ragusa
SOUTHEASTERN SICILY AND THE MONTI IBLEI (TOUR 8) 44
Syracuse · Penisola della Maddalena · Noto · Portopalo di Capo Passero · Ispica · Modica · Scicli · Donnafugata · Ragusa · Vizzini · Palazzolo Acreide · Pantalica · Syracuse
WALKING 51
Grading, waymarking, maps, GPS 51
Weather 53
Safety and equipment 53
Snakes, dogs and ticks 54
Where to stay 55
Organisation of the walks 55
A country code 56
Glossary 57
Useful addresses 58
THE WALKS
AROUND MOUNT ETNA
1 Monti Rossi 60
2 Schiena dell'Asino and the Valle del Bove 62
3 Monte Fontana and the Valle del Bove 66
4 Monti Sartorius 68
5 Serra delle Concazze and the Pizzi Deneri 70
6 Monte Nero and the Grotta del Gelo 73
7 Monte Spagnolo and the Cisternazza 77
8 Monte Ruvolo, Monti Tre Frati and Monte Minardo 80
TAORMINA, THE PELORITANI MOUNTAINS AND THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS
9 Monte Venere 83
10 Forza d'Agrò 85
11 Monte Scuderi 87
12 The Gran Cratere on Vulcano 89
13 Western Lipari 90
14 Rocca Novara 93
THE NEBRODI MOUNTAINS
15 Monte Soro and Lago Biviere 95
16 Cascata del Catafurco 98
17 Bosco di Mangalaviti and Lago Biviere 100
18 Rocche del Crasto 103
CEFALÙ AND THE MADONIE MOUNTAINS
19 The castle rock of Cefalù 105
20 Giant hollies on the Piano Pomo 108
21 Vallone Madonna degli Angeli 110
22 Pizzo Carbonara 113
23 Gangivecchio and Monte Zimmara 116
PALERMO AND THE WEST
24 Monte Pellegrino, Palermo's holy mountain 118
25 The Castellaccio on Pizzo del Corvo 121
26 Monte Còfano 122
27 The Zingaro Nature Reserve 125
28 Stone Age paintings on Levanzo 128
BETWEEN PALERMO AND AGRIGENTO
29 Portella della Ginestra and Serre della Pizzuta 131
30 Valle del Fanuso and Cozzo Fanuso 134
31 Rocca Busambra and the Bosco della Ficuzza 137
32 Monti di Palazzo Adriano 116
33 Torre Salsa and Eraclea Minoa 142
34 Sant'Angelo Muxaro and Monte Castello 145
35 Caccamo and Monte S. Calogero 122
SOUTHEASTERN SICILY AND THE MONTI IBLEI
36 Papyrus along the Ciane 150
37 Noto Antica and the Cava del Carosello 151
38 The Vendicari nature reserve 154
39 Scicli and the Colle di San Matteo 157
40 Ragusa Ibla and the Cava della Misericordia 158
41 Pantalica 161
Index 165
Fold-out touring map inside back cover
