Ladies Only Mountain Bike Tour

Mount Etna, Alcantara Valley, the stunning baroque of Noto (UNESCO World Heritage) and the beautiful beaches of the southern Sicilian coast: a fantastic 4-day bike tour made for ladies on mountain bikes through nature reserves and history served with delicious home cooking, Sicilian wine and superior comfortable accommodation.

First Day:

Arrival at the airport and transfer to Mount Etna for a magic sunset ride on and around the highest active volcano in Europe. You will cycle through ‘fields’ of lava rock and will notice how the black surroundings are suddenly interrupted by the rich greenery of the thick pine forests and chestnut woods. This will be an unforgettable experience on your mountain bike and a great start to your tour!

Mount Etna is a living mountain that ‘breathes’ and you will often hear the ‘voice’ of the volcano in the background while cycling along the Pista Altomontana.

Dinner and overnight stay in a beautifully restored old farmhouse tucked deep into the hilly lava countryside between Etna (great view from the farmhouse) and the Alcantara Valley, with a swimming pool and excellent home cooking.

Second Day:

On this day we will explore a little corner of paradise called the Alcantara valley including the gorges, lakes and the naturalistic and architectural wonders to be discovered and appreciated from your bike.

Starting from Castiglione di Sicilia, we go off-road and you can admire the wonders of the valley where the river Alcantara has carved its bed, creating at the end of its course a crack between two walls of basalt: the famous gorges of Alcantara. The structure of the walls, which are tens of metres high, is characterized in some places by colonnar structures that look similar to aligned “organ reeds”, elegant “fans” and tidy “stacks of wood”. The river environment, between lakes and waterfalls, is mainly characterized by Mediterranean forests. You will go along the river as far as its mouth to the sea and then go back to the starting point in Castiglione for a tasty dinner and an overnight stay.

Third day:

We leave the Alcantara Valley area and transfer by comfortable van towards the south of Sicily. We’ll start our mountain bike ride from the small village of Testa dell’Acqua near Noto.

The route goes towards the long abandoned town of Noto Antica, with its ancient ruins on Mount Alveria. The old name was Netum and the town was destroyed by earthquake in 1693 leaving stone ruins behind. These remains give us an insight into the magnificence of the ancient city, perched at the crossroads of three valleys and made impregnable by thick walls and deep quarries.

From there we’ll cycle through the Noto countryside to get to our overnight destination, the Shauri Glamping site. This wild glamping site is situated among almond and olive trees where you’ll have a delicious dinner and restful overnight stay.

Fourth day:

We’ll start the day by riding towards the ‘newer’ town of Noto which was built further downstream after the earthquake in 1693. You can admire its stunning baroque buildings, including the UNESCO World Heritage churches while cycling through the town centre. Then we’ll go towards the beautiful beaches of the Ionian Sea through the gentle hills of the Noto valley.

We will ride downhill through the Mediterranean scrub and enchanting scenery to the beautiful sandy beaches of the Ionian coast, where we will have time for a nice swim in the sea. We can also fit in a short visit to Vendicari Nature Reserve which hosts a mixture of lagoons, sand dunes, rocky coastlines, and sandy beaches. This is where thousands of migrating birds such as pink flamingos, herons, storks and cormorants spend a few days on their way to or from Africa. After that we’ll go back to the glamping site for dinner and the last overnight stay of the tour.

Fifth day:

Departure

Transfer to Catania Airport