It’s called call it the Grand Canyon of Sicily! The “CAVA GRANDE DEL CASSIBILE”.
Cavagrande del Cassibile, the big gorge of the Cassibile creek,it is located in southeastern part of Sicily, south of the town of Siracusa in the Hyblaeans Mountains . This is a limestone plateau full of karst features and overgrown by dense Mediterranean macchia (low growing shrubs) .
The canyon runs for about 10 km, its been carved into the plateau by the Cassibile creek which runs all year round .
The gorge provides an unique flora, some of the plants are endemic. Their splendour enfolds in early spring until june and some flowers might blossom after the first autumn rains in october / november.
The site is a natural reserve protected since 1990 and there are some restrictions imposed on the area.
Cavagrande is worth while a visit the whole year round – the most interesting season surely is springtime with all the flowers and orchids blossoming.
Its a fantastic place to spend the day going hiking, bird watching,exploring with the kids, and during the summer to take a dive from the many cliffs into the crystal clear ponds that run along the canyon.
There are fantastic hiking trails, its important to bring good walking shoes, water, first aid kit (you never know), kids will love it.
Here are the GPS Coordinates Lat/Lon: 36.96827°N / 15.11341°E.
Its located about 45 minutes drive from the villa.
