Italy, Sicily – A Climb Up Monte Cofano
Published: 4.1.2021
After the first day in Sicily, we decided to exchange walks through the city for a day of climbing a hill overlooking. Since we were moving near Monte Cofano, which is located in the reserve Riserva Naturale Orientata Monte Cofano, we were quite clear.
Monte Cofano is a very nice hill where we can see the contrast with the beach plane and its dominant. The height of Monte Cofano is 659 m above sea level. The ideal place to go is the small town of Cornino. You can either park by the beach or take a dirt road to the quarry. Marble used to be mined in this, so you can see the excavated blocks all around. From the quarry, Monte Cofano has been rising directly above our heads.
The journey starts at a small house and immediately sharpens a nice hill to the saddle. The path is marked with red polka dots. A signpost awaits us on the saddle and we turn left and continue to the limestone rock. Here we try to find markings and after endless groping we see it in the distance on the rock. Which means our path leads straight up the rock. We cling to various stone blocks and climb higher and higher until we reach the supposedly most difficult place. Here is a fixed rope that will help us overcome this section. It's not hard at all, we jump twice and we're there. From here, the top looks at your fingertips. But since the signage is really bad here, we choose the exit route as we think. For a while we go zigzag and for a while we go straight up again, until we reach the very top of the mountain at the end.
The view from here is truly magnificent. The sea, the cliffs, even the city of Erice are in the palm of our hand. We sit here for a while, take a few photos and run down again. The road is pretty dirt, we jump on the rocks like chamois and we are at the fixed rope again. We go down and hesitate to go around the mountain from the other side. And finally, why not? So we head in the other direction and descend the paved sidewalk to Tonnara del Cofano. From here, a beautiful path leads to the town of Cornino. Along the way, you can read information signs, sit on benches and peek into several caves. In some parts of this walk you can even water in the sea.
I recommend this climb, even if you sweat a lot.
GPS: 38°06'22.3"N 12°40'07.0"E
Text and photos: Kateřina Janovská
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