Cavagrande del Cassibile

What a pleasure it was to hike the Cavagrande del Cassibile Nature Reserve. The steep and overgrown paths were teeming with wildflowers and bug life. The sun was shining and we barely saw another soul there.

The reserve has officially been closed for the past seven years after a fire tore through the valley, but the locals assured us it was fine to enter. They’ve even built their own stile out of milk crates to vault the locked gate!

This vast park of almost 3,000ha is also home to one of Europe’s biggest canyons, and large caves across the valley are full of ancient dwellings and necropolises. And although we didn’t quite make it all the way down to the the Cassibile River some 500m below, we did find a lovely tree to stop for for a picnic before our ascent out!