If you have in plan to visit Italy next year, then follow this simple guide to help you find unusual places to practice go adventure.
Special thanks to the non profit Adventure Travel Association Tripadventure.org for giving me the resources and info to write this post.
Most tourists think that Italy is famous only for its cultural patrimony (churches, museums, art, etc...) but most people don't know that they can join culture with adventures.
[The Abruzzi Nationl Park in the central Italy - Credit Flickr]
In fact Italy is rich of natural parks, hills, tracks and high peak mountains where practice trekking, hiking, biking or simple cycling tours.
It's impossible to classify all regions, but the "Top 10" list below is pretty comprehensive.
- Liguria, where practice hiking trips in the Cinque terre
- Lombardy,where bicycle around the lakes district: Garda and Como lake
- Trentino, where trekking in Dolomites (Read more info about Dolomites tracks)
- Veneto, where join a walking tour of Venice
- Emilia Romagna, where cycle the Chianti hills and the Modenese Appenine
- Bike in Tuscany (read more info about Tuscany) in the wine regions and visit Siena and Florence
- Campania, where visit the Amalfi coast and Naples
- Umbria, with the Trasimeno lake and Perugia
- Lazio and Rome
- Apulia, where bike the Gargano park.
[Syracuse - Courtesy of Sicily Bike]
Surely the best experience is cycling in Sicily. If you are an adventure traveller, the best adventure trip you can do here in Sicily is to visit volcano Etna.
To spend in the best way your time you should book your accommodation in a Bed and Breakfast in Nicolosi or in Linguaglossa, two small and characteristic villages on Etna. You can reach Linguaglossa taking A 18 Catania-Messina Highway and getting out at tollbooth of Fiumefreddo. Now you have to follow road signs to Linguaglossa.
If you decide to go to Nicolosi, the only thing you have to do is going to north Catania and follow the road signs to Nicolosi, that is very near.
The other step consist to contact an excursionist guide that will take you on the higher crater of Europe, such a little Tibet in Mediterranean sea.
But don’t forget to take with you your mountain equipment: hiking trousers and shoes, thermal undershirt, hiking hose and jacket, considering you want to enjoy this show in winter, a very characteristics time to visit Etna, when the crater is full of snow. But the summer is a good time too, the only difference is a easier hike because the absence of snow and higher temperature.
Your Hiking can now become a cultural adventure of History and Nature.
- The classic hike is to visits the principal higher crater at 3.340 metres.
- But another important thing you have to know: Volcano Etna is an important place where skiing: here are two skiing structure in Nicolosi and Linguaglossa.