Explore the Pantalica Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a guided trek. Discover its stunning natural beauty and ancient history as you hike through limestone gorges, lush valleys, and past ancient tombs. The site contains about 5,000 cave graves dug into the rock.
Begin your adventure by following a wide track marked “Necropoli Nord” in gradual descent. Enter the beautiful valley excavated over time by the river. Listen to the bird song and admire the masses of flowering red valerian, golden marigolds, and handsome acanthus lining the path.
Spot yawning caves in the limestone flanks opposite, while the path passes numerous scattered sites of ancient tombs with low rectangular entrances hollowed out in the hillside. The old roadway itself is partially excavated into the stone, the final stretch to the stream particularly evocative.
Pantalica boasts a diverse natural landscape, with limestone gorges, rich flora, and unique wildlife along the Anapo and Calcinara rivers.
You will trek through Pantalica Nature Reserve to discover its beautiful nature and ancient history.
It is ideal for those who love nature, prehistoric archaeology and trekking. Average difficulty.
The steep sides of the gorge give way to a fertile valley that supports a flourishing variety of flora including holm oaks, wild sage and thyme, giant fennel and plane-trees. The tombs themselves pepper the sides of the canyon and are an impressive sight.
I will lead you through a wide track marked “Necropoli Nord” in gradual descent and we will enter the beautiful valley excavated over time by the river. The bird song can be deafening and masses of flowering red valerian, golden marigolds, a riot of mauve vetch, handsome acanthus and veritable domes of tree spurge line the path. Yawning caves appear in the limestone flanks opposite, while the path passes numerous scattered sites of ancient tombs with low rectangular entrances hollowed out in the hillside. The old roadway itself is partially excavated into the stone, the final stretch to the stream particularly evocative.
At the water’s edge of the Calcinara River, the vegetation becomes denser and lusher with every step you take. Admire how the river's crystal-clear waters emerge from the rocks. See the old aqueduct and come across other surprises, such as a water mill for making gunpowder.
After we reach the Calcinara River, we will go to the Byzantine village with its cave church of Crocifisso and Byzantine rock dwellings dating to the sixth and seventh centuries AD. After some rest, I will take you back.