Etna in MTB or E-Bike
The simple tour for all Mountain Biking lovers
Price from
Duration
Difficulty
Details
This Etna MTB or E-Bike tour was born from the need to satisfy all Mountain Biking lovers even after the eruption of the Etna volcano in February 2025, which with its lava flow cut the Pista Altomontana in two (South West area) and consequently made three of our most popular Easy MTB tours unusable.
We have designed this MTB or E-Bike tour with three variants always at a single price, trying to make our new way of proposing Mountain Biking on the Etna volcano enjoyable for everyone, testing yourself with our muscular MTB or paying a small surcharge using our E-Bike (EXTRA discounted price, only for those who choose this Tour).
You can choose between three versions, a Standard, a Simple and an Expert, opting for the use of Mountain Bike (muscular) once you reach the Rifugio San Giovanni Gualberto (Hut), the guide in charge of the service will propose the best solution based on your cycling skills, then he will suggest whether to continue with the Standard, Simple or Expert solution.
Centuries old woods, unique landscapes and lava flows will make this experience unique.
At the discretion of the guide, small variations in kilometers and altitude difference may be made, for all three versions, all to make the tour as suitable as possible for your needs and abilities.
Start Point from Piano Vetore (Etna Sud), once we have become familiar with our MTB or E-Bike and have met the guide in charge of the service, we will head towards the entrance of the naturalistic path of the Etna park, along an easy and mostly downhill path (where we will reach the maximum altitude of 1779 mt above sea level).
After a few kilometers we will enter the woods in a South West direction towards the Rifugio Giovanni Gualberto (Hut) with a guided Trail, full of exciting ups and downs.
Once past the Hut we will intercept part of the Pista Altomontana, leaving it almost immediately to head towards a long and guided descent towards Pineta di Serra la Nave.
Fairytale pine forest full of fast and technical trails that we will follow until the exit in the Milia area (here we will reach the lowest point of altitude of 1526 mt above sea level), where the last part of the uphill path, about 2 km, will be a mix between asphalt road (not busy) and Trail on sandy ground that will allow us to conclude the Mountain Biking adventure at the initial starting point.
IMPORTANT: This is the simplest thing we could do, given the inconvenience caused by the last eruption, but it is still a Trail not recommended for Mountain Biking beginners, given the technical peculiarities of the path, it is necessary a minimum of cycling knowledge.
Length: 11 km
Total altitude difference: 815
Ascent: 405
Descent: 410
Level: Basic route, technically easy to access with normal cycling preparation
Path: Medium/Easy, 80% Offroad
Period: All year round depending on the snow cover of the trails
Start Point from Piano Vetore (Etna Sud), once we have become familiar with our MTB or E-Bike and have met the guide in charge of the service, we will head towards the entrance of the naturalistic path of the Etna park, along an easy and mostly downhill path (where we will reach the maximum altitude of 1779 mt above sea level).
After a few kilometers we will enter the woods in a South West direction towards the Rifugio Giovanni Gualberto (Hut), following an easy path suitable for everyone, mixed on and offroad.
After passing the Rifugio Giovanni Gualberto (Hut), we will intercept part of the Pista Altomontana, a panoramic road, easy to travel with normal cycling knowledge, the track will lead us to the lava flow of the last eruption in February 2025, which cut the Pista Altomontana in two.
After a short relaxing break to enjoy the landscapes between sciara and lava flows, we will return by Mountain Bike towards Piano Vetore.
For the return we will use 75% of the path used for the outward journey of the tour.
IMPORTANT: This is really the simplest thing we could do, given the inconvenience caused by the last eruption.
This is a path within the reach of all cycling lovers, on the road and off-road. You just need to have a minimum of cycling knowledge.
Length: 13 km
Total altitude difference: 705
Ascent: 350
Descent: 355
Level: Easy path, technically easy to access with sufficient cycling preparation
Path: Easy, 70% Offroad
Period: All year round depending on the snow cover of the trails
Start Point from Piano Vetore (Etna Sud), once we have become familiar with our MTBs or E-Bike and have met the guide in charge of the service, we will head towards the entrance of the naturalistic path of the Etna park, along an easy and mostly downhill path (where we will reach the maximum altitude of 1779 mt above sea level).
After a few kilometers we will enter the woods in a South West direction towards the Rifugio Giovanni Gualberto (Hut) with a guided Trail, full of exciting ups and downs.
Once past the Hut we will intercept part of the Pista Altomontana, leaving it almost immediately to head towards a guided path inside a thick forest where a first real climb awaits us, eager to your energy.
After the climb we will again intercept part of the Pista Altomontana, which we will leave immediately after to head South towards a technical and sandy descent, entering and exiting the woods, until we intercept one of the most classic and fun technical Trails in this area, with ups and downs between steps and loose stones, in the middle of one of the old lava flows existing in the area.
After leaving the Trail we will head towards the Pineta di Serra la Nave.
A fairytale pine forest full of fast sections that we will follow until the exit in the Milia area (here we will touch the lowest point of altitude of 1526 mt above sea level), where the last part of the uphill path, about 2 km, will be a mix of asphalt road (not busy) and Trail on sandy ground that will allow us to conclude the Mountain Biking adventure at the initial starting point.
Length: 16 km
Total altitude difference: 1025
Ascent: 510
Descent: 515
Level: Middle path, technically requires sufficient cycling preparation
Path: Medium, 90% Offroad
Period: All year round depending on the snow cover of the trails
Included/Extra
- Certified MTB guide
- Muscular MTB (FLAT pedals)
- Helmet, backpack, windbreaker
- Bottle of water (500ml)
- Energy drink (500ml)
- Cereal snack
- RC insurance coverage
- E-MTB (pedal assisted bike)
- MTB-SPD pedals (only on request)
- Pick-up/shuttle service from your Hotel or from our Meeting Point
For other extra services or customizations, please contact us.
We recommend: Technical/sports clothing suitable for mountain bike riding, trekking/tennis shoes, gloves, sunglasses or cycling glasses, sun cream (summer period).
In the summer period we recommend bringing additional water (at least 1 liter), snacks or fruit.
Prices
1 participant
exclusive booking of the Tour
2 participants
exclusive booking of the Tour
Special Price only for this tour as EXTRA E-Bike
Plus Assistance + 20€ per Person
IMPORTANT: The prices indicated above don’t include pick-up service (bookable exclusively as an extra), the departure for this Tour is from Piano Vetore (Nicolosi), Etna Sud, where you will find: Guide, bike and all the necessary equipment.
Not included: Everything that is not specified under “Included in the price”
Typology
Max number of participants
Min age
Start point
Departure
