The ascent can be from the south from Catania, via Nicolosi, or by the northeast face from Taormina via Linguaglossa. The former will take you up to an altitude of 3 000m near the grandiose Valle del Bove, hemmed in by walls of lava (1 200m high) and pierced with pot holes and crevasses belching smoke. The road to the northeast face ends at Piano Provenzana (1 800m). There is a magnificent view from the area around the new observatory. The climb ends amid an extraordinary landscape of lava and smoking pot holes.