Lhe Madonie Natural Park is the green lung of the central-northern part of Sicily. Established in 1989, it covers an area of approximately 40,000 hectares and includes 15 Sicilian municipalities. The park's highest peak is Pizzo Carbonara, with its 1979 metres the second highest mountain in Sicily. Downstream of Pizzo Carbonara rises Piano Battaglia, an absolute tourist resort in Madonie Park, which can be enjoyed both in summer and winter thanks to the ski resort.
The forests of the Madonie Mountains are among the most varied in the Mediterranean: among beech trees, elms, holm oaks, cork oaks and hollies, there are also many endemic plants and tree species that only grow in this area. In this marvellous scenery, the Adventure Park will amuse the most adventurous visitors with its paths suspended among the trees. Inside the park, there are many scenic trails to explore on foot, horseback or bicycle, winding through woods, valleys, plateaus and hills to show us the hidden wonders of the park: rare tree species (including Abies Nebrodensis, an almost extinct needle-shaped tree), springs, waterfalls, woods, mountain lakes and the typical Pagliai, old shelters used to shelter people and tools and now kept alive by the park's caretakers.
If you want to discover the ancient Sicilian cultural and rural soul, now almost completely disappeared in other places of the island, you cannot miss a visit to Castelbuono with its imposing Ventimiglia Castle; Polizzi Generosa, which stands on a rocky ridge at an altitude of over a thousand metres, with its historical centre studded with churches and monuments; Petralia Sottana founded by the Normans and Petralia Soprana the highest town in the Madonie, small and medieval, where time seems to stand still; Geraci Siculo with its narrow, winding cobbled streets; the imposing Gangi, with the most beautiful view of the Madonie.
As if that were not enough, the Madonie have excellent food and wine culture. In recent years, numerous restaurants have sprung up to revisit and re-evaluate typical cuisine.
In short, there is something for everyone on the Madonie!
