Gole dell'Alcantara — Attraction in Francavilla di Sicilia

Summary: crowded but beautiful. The rushing water is bracing and the whole environment is inspiring.

Going there we didn’t really know what to expect despite looking on Trip Advisor and other sites so here is what we found.

Firstly, it’s not remote at all. Buses from Taormina go there on the hour (Sunday’s schedule is more intermittent). We went on a Sunday and missed the last early bus so rather than wait 3 hours for the next one, got an Uber for about £50. This was a relatively good price: Sicily is not cheap.

When you arrive there is visitor centre which sells tickets and food. It has places for a picnic and rather messy toilets.

You can either pay a couple euros to use a turnstile to walk down to the gorge or just before that, pay €10 to take the rickety lift. We were directed straight to the ticket office not realising if we wanted to take the stairs we didn’t need to buy a ticket. However, if you suffer from vertigo the lift is the better option.

You can also purchase other ticket options here for activities in the gorge - basically going further upstream than you can without a wetsuit or waders and a guide. We didn’t look into these options.

Next, when you get to the gorge itself you can either wade upstream between the steep walls where the water is up to 1m deep, or you can explore downstream clambering over rocks (or walking along on a parallel path). Either way, ‘swimming shoes’ are recommended unless you have feet made of leather like my son.😊

Many families park up in the spaces between these two parts and basically treat it like a beach alternating between sunbathing and cooling off. There are no toilets at the bottom but there is a small bar.

My two boys (9 & 16), my wife and myself really enjoyed negotiating the rapids and clambering over the rocks. Take care though, the currents are dangerously strong in places and we lost our footing and were caught out a couple times. We stayed about three hours in all.

Oh one last thing, if you go by bus the stop is outside the carpark. Take the bus times from the Interbus website, not the bus stop as the timetable seemed out of date.

Well...

Io mi sono letteralmente innamorata di questo posto! Andati di domenica mattina fino al pomeriggio e non abbiamo trovato tantissima affluenza nonostante un ragazzo fuori ci aveva detto che avremmo faticato persino a trovare posto per le tovaglie e che non mi sarei rilassata. RELAX : 8/10 se non fosse per gli insetti(formiche) che nel momento in cui ti sdrai ti assaltano . AFFLUENZA : tanto, tantissimo spazio per borse e tovaglie, poca gente. Ci sono circa 230 gradini per scendere e altrettanti per salire, il costo di entrata è di 2€ a pax. Se non volete fare le scale, ci sono gli ascensori al costo di 10€ andata e ritorno ma io non li consiglio, le scale sono fattibili e ombreggiate dagli alberi! Il posto è mozzafiato, memorabile, ci ritornerei subito e vi confesso che non volevo andarmene da questa oasi di pace.. è tutto suggestivo. L’acqua è freddissima, circa 4 gradi, all’inizio penserete di non potercela fare ma dopo qualche minuto vi abituerete!! Cosa portare : Scarpe subaque per gli scogli (il fondale è solo ed esclusivamente formato da pietre), pranzo a sacco e borsa frigo, tovaglie, macchina fotografica , busta per la spazzatura, posacenere se fumate e crema solare. Peccato solo per qualche turista che, ha lasciato nella rientranza di una gola(in mezzo all’acqua) una busta di spazzatura del pranzo suo e della sua famiglia. Avrei voluto vederlo con i miei occhi il genio, ha cercato di inquinare un paesaggio meravigliosamente bello! LASCIATE PULITO ! Ps. Date un aumento alla signora della biglietteria lungo la strada.. è gentilissima, dolcissima, simpatica e ti fornisce qualsiasi informazione...

Beautiful nature park in Sicily. A tranquil and peaceful place to visit and enjoy far away from the busy city life. Absolutely loved it. River is shallow so one can wade in it. Bottom is pebbles so adequate shoes should be worn as a bit tricky to walk barefoot. Water is cold but not freezing. Idyllic surroundings make it a perfect place to relax and enjoy. Highly recommended for wanderers and trekkers. The surrounding mountains are awesome. Cannot recommend highly enough. Nature reserve is well maintained and toilet facilities...