In the east of Sicily, just north of Etna, there is a valley, Alcantara, where a river has been fighting for space against lava since the dawn of time (well, technically it’s about 8000 years). Tobatheornottobathe had come across a picture of a gill with beautiful basalt columns and splendid bathing opportunities. We wanted to go there!
The lava had been flowing down from Etna in three stages, and was cooled down just fast enough for basalt columns to be formed. The basalt beams take their shape after the molecular shape of basalt, and create 5-12 sided beams, usually 6. It’s just marvellous!
The name Alcantara comes from Arabic ‘The Bridge‘, and in the middle of the valley there is a gorge which in some places is so narrow that you can jump over to the other side (don’t try, please!). The gill that the river has dug is up to 25 meters deep. Apart from the basalt, this looks quite similar to ‘Mågålaupet‘ at Oppdal in Norway. The basalt, on the other hand, is a bit reminiscent of another basalt pillar gill we have visited, namely ‘Stuðlagil‘ in Iceland.
It turned out that the water in the gill is surprisingly fresh and cold. Absolutely wonderful! There will be some wading on sand and gravel (consider swimming shoes or wet socks if you have sensitive feet).
It was probably the stones in the river they were looking at, or maybe fish, we did see some. Tobatheornottobathe visited the place in October and there were a lot of visitors, but not crowded. In August/September it is probably different, but still we would strongly recommend a bath here. If you want, there are organized trips, for example paddling and canyoning. We felt satisfied with just a bath, and purchased tickets including a lift (!) down and up again.
The area is well developed, with hiking trails and a park on the southern side. Before the refreshing bath we recommend that you walk the entire route. Almost all the stops are linked to stories about Venus and her love life. An old legend says that the god Vulcano and the goddess Venus used to meet here, but Venus dumped Vulcano in favor of the god Mars. It became a mess! Vulcano, who had let the lava flow this way to heat the water in the river to make it comfortable for Venus, made the water cold instead. This is still the case, and according to legend, the icy water is supposed to increase (!) the virility of the men who bathe here, and the virginity of the ladies. Hmm, mysterious!
A bath in Gole Alcantara is absolutely gorgeous! It wasn’t deep (in October), only wading, but that was ok, since the current was so strong that you couldn’t swim against it anyway. And the temperature? Not above 12 degrees Celsius, i.e. freezing cold according to Italian standards (impossible to swim there in winter, they say…).