Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fossa di Vulcano
(admission €3)
Vulcano's top attraction is the straightforward trek up its 391m volcano (no
guide required). Start early if possible and bring a hat, sunscreen and water. Follow the
signs south along Strada Provinciale, then turn left onto the zigzag gravel track that leads
to the summit. It's about an hour's scramble to the lowest point of the crater's edge
(290m).
From here, the sight of the steaming crater encrusted with red and yellow crystals is re-
ward enough, but it's well worth lingering up top for a while. You can descend steeply to
the crater floor or, better yet, continue climbing around the rim for stunning views of all
the islands lined up to the north.
WALKING
Laghetto di Fanghi
(admission €2, incl visit to faraglione €2.50, shower €1, towel €2.60; 7am-11pm summer, 8.30am-5pm winter)
Backed by a
faraglione
(rocky spire) and stinking of rotten eggs, Vulcano's harbourside
pool of thick, coffee-coloured sulphurous gloop isn't exactly a five-star beauty farm. But
the warm mud has long been considered an excellent treatment for rheumatic pains and
skin diseases, and if you don't mind smelling funny for a few days, rolling around in the
mud can be fun.
Once you have had time to relax in the muddy water, get some soft clay from the bot-
tom of the pool and apply it to your body and face. Don't let any of the mud get in your
eyes as the sulphur is acidic and can damage the retina (keep your hair mud-free too).
Wait for the clay mask to dry, wash it off in the pool, then run to the natural spa around
the corner, where there are hot, bubbling springs in a small, natural seawater pool.
MUD BATHS
Spiaggia Sabbia Nera
Vulcano's beach scene is centred on this smooth strip of black sand at Porto di Ponente,
about 10 minutes' walk beyond the mud pools on the western side of the peninsula. One
of the few sandy beaches in the Aeolians, it's a scenic spot, curving around a bay of limp-
id, glassy waters out of which rise jutting
faraglioni
.
From the beach, a road traverses a small isthmus to Vulcanello (123m), a bulb of land
that was spewed out by a volcanic eruption in 183 BC. Here you'll find the famous
Valle dei
Mostri
(Valley of the Monsters), a group of wind-eroded dark rocks that have formed grot-
esque shapes.
BEACH
Capo Grillo
VIEW POINT
