Hiking & Outdoor

Last updated: July 2026

Most of Pantelleria, the volcanic island between Sicily and Tunisia, is a national park — the first established in Sicily, in 2016 — and the walking here is the reason a lot of people come back. Fifty-odd volcanic cones, a pine and holm-oak forest on the summit, steam venting out of the ground, and dry-stone paths that farmers cut centuries ago and walkers still use.

The park maintains a marked network of 23 trails covering close to 130 km, ranging from short circular walks to full traverses, and grouped by theme: naturalistic, geological, historical and rural. Everything below is drawn from the park’s own published material and from the operators’ own sites, verified in July 2026. For the island beyond the trails, see our guide to things to do in Pantelleria.

The national park and its trail network

Start with the park itself. Its site publishes the full trail list with route descriptions, difficulty and access points, plus the current programme of guided walks and the register of official park guides. Signage on the ground is decent but not exhaustive, so download or photograph the route before you set off.

Ente Parco Nazionale Isola di Pantelleria — Via San Nicola 5, 91017 Pantelleria (TP) · +39 0923 569 412 · [email protected] · trail network ↗ · official guides ↗

The park also runs Camminaparchi, a seasonal programme of guided excursions — in the current edition, dozens of dated appointments across eleven protected areas, led by qualified environmental hiking guides and equestrian tourism guides, and graded from family walks to demanding treks. It is the simplest way to walk with someone who knows the ground, and the dates are published on the park site.

When should you walk in Pantelleria?

Spring and autumn. April to early June and late September through October give you warm days, flowering maquis and manageable heat. July and August are punishing on exposed ground: if you walk in high summer, start at first light and be off the open trails by eleven.

Carry more water than feels reasonable — there are no fountains on the trails and no shade on the coastal sections. The lava underfoot is abrasive and sharp-edged: proper boots, not trainers. And check the wind before a ridge walk, because up on Montagna Grande it arrives with nothing in its way. If you are staying in a remote dammuso, factor the drive back in before dark.

Montagna Grande

The island’s summit at 836 m and its green lung: a forest of pine and holm oak that feels like a different island from the coast, reached on old mule tracks through the maquis. From the top the view runs the length of Pantelleria, and on a clear evening the Tunisian coast shows on the horizon.

It is the most linked-to walk on this site for a reason: it is the one that explains the island’s geology to you as you climb. Several marked routes reach the summit area from different sides — check the park’s trail list for the current numbering, lengths and access points, since the approach roads change condition from year to year. Combine it with the steam cave at Bagno Asciutto, which sits on the mountain’s flank, and with the crater walk at Lago di Venere on a second day.

Craters and favare

Pantelleria has more than fifty volcanic cones, and the favare — fumaroles venting superheated steam straight out of the rock — are the clearest reminder that the island is still geologically alive. The Favara Grande is the best known, a hillside where jets of steam come out of fissures loudly enough to hear before you see them.

The ground around vents is hot and unstable and the routes are not always obvious, so this is the walk most worth doing with a guide. Options that are actually bookable:

• Pantelleria Cultura & Natura — Peppe D’Aietti, writer and territory expert, runs archaeological, geological and naturalistic excursions, by day and by night, from easy walks to demanding treks. +39 328 416 5598 · pantelleriaculturaenatura.it ↗
• Pantipity — trekking with an official national park guide. pantipity.com ↗
• Pantelleria Trek — a set of mapped routes covering the whole island, with guided options. pantelleriatrek.it ↗
• The park’s own Camminaparchi programme — dated guided walks through the season, listed on the park site.

Benikulà: the natural sauna

A cave on the slopes of Montagna Grande where steam rises through a fissure in the floor and pools under the rock. You sit on the stone bench, the temperature climbs, and after ten minutes you come out feeling like you have been through a hammam built by a volcano. It is free, it is unattended, and it is one of the island’s signature experiences.

Go early or late: at midday in summer the cave is both crowded and genuinely hot. Do not stay in beyond your comfort, do not go in alone if you have heart or blood-pressure problems, and leave the thermal soak for a day you are not diving. Our thermal springs guide covers it alongside Sataria Cave and the hot water at Cala Gadir.

Lago di Venere

The lake fills an old volcanic crater in the north of the island, fed by rain and by hot springs along its edge. The walk around it is flat, easy and short — the least demanding thing in this guide — and the appeal is as much the mud as the walking: bathers coat themselves in the warm grey clay at the shore, dry off in the sun, then rinse in the lake.

Colours shift through the day with the light and the algae, from turquoise to green. It is a good early-morning or late-afternoon outing, and it pairs with a swim on one of the island’s coves afterwards. See Lago di Venere in our thermal springs guide.

Punta Spadillo and the north coast

The north-east corner, where black lava meets the sea under the lighthouse. The walking here is coastal rather than uphill: fields of hardened lava, a volcanological museum in the old lighthouse buildings, and rock pools that fill and empty with the swell. The wind is a constant, which is precisely why the landscape looks the way it does.

Easy to reach from town and easy to combine with a swim at Cala Cinque Denti or Cala Karuscia, both on this stretch of coast. The circular bus passes the nearest villages.

The Gelfiser lava flow

A walk across solidified lava on the west of the island, where the rock is still bare enough that you can read the flow in it — ropes and folds where it cooled, fissures where it cracked. Sparse vegetation, sharp footing, and a landscape that looks nothing like the rest of the Mediterranean.

Wear real boots for this one: the lava will shred soft soles and grazes from a fall on it heal slowly. Check the park’s trail list for the marked route and access.

The walk to Arco dell’Elefante

The island’s most photographed rock — a lava arch dipping into the sea like an elephant drinking — sits on the east coast and can be reached on foot along the shore path from the road above. Short, straightforward, and best at first or last light when the arch is lit from the side.

You can swim beneath it. There is no sand: it is a rock entry, so bring something on your feet. See Arco dell’Elefante in the beaches guide, and continue along the coast to Cala Levante and Cala Tramontana, one on each side of the headland.

Cycling and the island bike sharing

The perimeter road loops the island in about 51 km, and the park’s trail network is open to mountain bikes on the sections that allow it. Be realistic about the profile: this is a volcano, the climbs are steep and the descents technical, and in August the road carries traffic.

Pantelleria Bike Sharing is the park’s own automated e-bike service, run through the Weelo app, with stations at Lago, Pantelleria Centro, Contrada Tracino and Contrada Scauri. You register on the app, choose a pass, unlock a bike at any station and return it at the same one or another. Published passes:

• One day — €12, valid 24 hours from purchase
• Three days — €30
• Six days — €45

The service runs 24 hours a day, all year, and island residents get 50% off. Note the conditions: over-18s only, one bike per person, no passengers, and no insurance is included either for the rider or towards third parties. Customer care answers on WhatsApp daily from 7:00 to 21:00. Details and passes ↗

For a conventional mountain bike or a longer hire, Viva Pantelleria and Montainbici both rent on the island, the latter with delivery to the port or airport. If you would rather have an engine, see our car and scooter rental guide.

Riding on Pantelleria

Horseback riding exists on the island, but not as a walk-in commercial stable with a website and a price list. It runs through the park’s guided programme: the Camminaparchi calendar includes outings led by qualified equestrian tourism guides alongside the walking ones.

So the route to a ride is the park, not a booking site. Check the current Camminaparchi listings for equestrian dates, or ask at your accommodation — several places to stay, agriturismi and dammuso owners among them, can put you in touch locally. We do not list a stable here because we could not verify one from a primary source, and a wrong number would waste your morning.

parconazionalepantelleria.it ↗ · see also our agriturismo guide

Getting to the trailheads

Most trailheads are inland and uphill, and the bus network was built for villages rather than walkers. It will get you to the main settlements — the East Coast Line, the South-West Line and the Airport Shuttle cover the basics — but for an early start you will want your own vehicle — see the bus network page for current timetables.

Arriving on the island, the Trapani hydrofoil is the quickest crossing and the overnight Trapani–Pantelleria ferry takes vehicles — worth it if you are bringing a bike.

After the walk

The reward for a morning on the lava is the rest of the island. Swim at Cala Gadir or, if you have a sturdy vehicle and the nerve for the descent, Balata dei Turchi on the wild southern coast.

Eat afterwards at Rifugio Firiciakki, which is dinner-only and built for exactly this kind of day — the full list is in our restaurants guide, or Dammuso Ristorante in town. Or swap land for sea entirely: the island boat operators — among them Nautilus Boat, Barca Sant’Allegria and the RIB rentals under small-boat hire — run the coast that no trail reaches, and Click&Boat lists private charters. The full island circuit by sea is the classic day off your feet.

Hiking in Pantelleria: questions answered