Pantalica & Calcinara

The prehistoric necropolis of Pantalica is an Unesco world heritage site, located between the small villages of Sortino and Ferla, in the province of Syracuse. It's an impressive archaeological area and nature reserve, famous for its over 6000 prehistoric tombs, dug in the overhanging walls of the Anapo river canyon. It's not easy to arrive to Pantalica because the site is located on a plateau surroundend by two canyons but this raises the fascination of this site. Hermes Sicily Tours offers various options to visit Pantalica and it's possible to choose among walking tour or trekkings with our professional guides. The tour described on this page is called 'Pantalica & Calcinara'. It is an itineary for small group, families of indidual tourists who travel with an own car and want to visit the most important parts of the archaeological site but also see some beautiful spots of the 'Valle dell'Anapo' nature reserve. You will meet your guide near Ferla, the small village with is one of the access gates to Pantalica. The difficulty level and the duration of the tour (from 2 to 4 hours) are tailored according your preferences. If you prefer a visit which involves only short walks it's possible to visit the main archaeological remains and partially move by car. Otherwise it's possible to enjoy a longer walk (easy level hike) to explore Pantalica, the plateau and it's optional also possible to reach the underlaying Calcinara river. Starting point of the visit is Filiporto. This was the most important point for the defense of the Plateau. Here, our guide will tell you about the archaeological site and the nature park. You will also see the first prehistoric tombs and the ruins of an ancient wall which closed the entrance. With a short walk of about 10 minutes along a nature trail, the guide will led you to the medieval village of San Micidiario. Grottos were adapted as houses and also a rock cut oratory was built. After the medieval village you will visit theanaktoron. Here you will see the fundaments of the so called 'palace of the prince', a megalithic building, dating back to the bronze age. You will have two options to reach the anaktoron. After the visit of the San Micidiario village it's possible to return to the car and drive to the parking of the monument or it's possible to hike along one of the nature parts of the Anapo valley reserve (duration 45-60 min.) with a break at the San Nicolicchio rock cut oratory. The anaktoron, also if only the fundaments are still in place, is an unique building for the Sicilia prehistoric cultures. For the last part of the visit you will move by car to the access of the Calcinara river trail. It's an enchanting small river inside a typical Sicilian limestone canyon. From the parking to the river there is an altitude difference of about 80-90 meters (about 290 feet). This is the most difficult part of this walking tour and is not recommended for elderly people or for people with joints pain. The walk to the Calcinara river is an optional part of the tour. Choosing to reach the Calcinara you will also visit the Crucifix oratory, you will have a great view of the north necropolis and of the bat's grotto.

Information and Booking

Contact us to book a walking tour or for information about the rates of tailored tours. To answer your questions please let us know: how many people you are, date or period of the year for the visit, requested language. The 'Pantalica & Calcinara' tour is a half-day visit bookable in the morning or in the afternoon (please have a look at the section 'meteo conditions'), below. Meeting point with the guide will be near Ferla. You will receive every detail in the booking confirmation mail.

Cancellation policy

Free cancellation for our private tours is possible up to 7 days before the tour. For further information please have a look at our complete terms and conditions.

Meteo conditions

In the period between mid June and mid September there are extreme temperatures in Sicily with often about 35-40°C (95-105° F) during the day. Our private tours are bookable at your preferred starting time but during the summer months, considering that there is no shadow on the plateau, we suggest to book a Pantalica tour in the afteroon, few hours before sunset. Contact us for tips about the best starting time or the different options for the visit.
Meteo alerts: In case of heavy rain there can be rock fall danger in Pantalica. For this reason in case of red meteo alerts communicated by the regional civil protection it will be necessary to move the tour to another day or cancel it. Usually the heavy thunderstorms are in Sicily between mid September and October. In some cases, after heavy rains the reserve remains closed to visits for some days.

Other Pantalica tours

Below you can see some of our other Pantalica tours. For further information have a look at the detailed pages or contact us.