Mount Etna Funicular: from 2500m to Rifugio Sapienza 1900m

Описание: This is a video taken from the Mt Etna funicular, as it descends.
How far you will be able to get up Mt Etna will depend on what mood she is in. Rifugio Sapienza is at 1900m and is the main tourist area. From there you can take this funicular up to 2500m- or if you are very fit, you could walk (it's not easy going- very steep and walking through powdery ash). From the 2500m point, you can walk higher, or take a 4x4 bus. Etna is around 3500m tall. We visited in April 2022- there had been a summit eruption in late February and the main craters were off-gasing poisonous fumes, so we could go no higher than 3000m. We visted a cooled lava flow from the Feb 2022 eruption and went on to an area overlooking the spectacular Valle del Bove- a massive crater in the side of the mountain that may have been caused by a series of massive, Mt St Helens style landslides.
The funicular itself is runs down massive lava flows from the 1980s and early 2001s eruptions. In fact, the top station of the funicular was burn out in 2001 and I think it was also damaged in the 1980s. I will say that the rebuilt cafe sells amazing Ragu Arancini (deep fried meat sauce rissoto balls) and they are only 3 euros 50!
There is a truly spectacular view over Catania, the northern craters of Etna and over the bay towards Lentini. It was a windy day when we travelled, so the trip down was a little bit alarming (especially they stopped us twice!)- however, it was better than walking! There is a large bang at the end of the video- this was the gondala coming in to land, not crashing!