Level of difficulty
0 of 5

Min. Age 1 year

1 HOUR

Morning/ Afternoon
Specific timetable

Boat excursion in Syracuse’s Ciane River nature reserve

What could be better than taking a nice boat trip to the Ciane River Nature Reserve? If you are visiting the beautiful city of Syracuse, you can’t fail to organize a nice trip on the “Alphaeus” routes: going up the Ciane River and exploring the wetland of the salt pans, located near its mouth, is a truly unique experience.

Ciane River Nature Reserve: what to see by boat

If you want to immerse yourself in nature, among the most interesting itineraries to organize is to rediscover the myths and legends behind the Ciane River Nature Reserve and the Salt Pans of Syracuse. The traverse takes about an hour, and every hiker has the opportunity to immerse himself in a truly unique atmosphere of peace and tranquility.

An excursion on the crystal-clear waters of the Ciane River is a relaxing and enjoyable experience.The river environment and the area of the Arethusa salt pans is the only nature reserve where papyrus grows wild. The Ciane River originates at Cozzo del Pantano from the headwaters Testa di Pisimota and Testa di Pisima, and after eight kilometers, it flows into the Grand Harbor of Syracuse. Right here near the mouth it is possible to visit the salt pans, no longer in operation today, which are the natural habitat and staging area for native poultry fauna.

As for floristic beauties and rarities, in the Ciane River Nature Reserve, papyrus is the typical North African plant that grows wild. A valuable plant that is distinguished from other shrubs by its upright, triangular-shaped stem and inflorescences that look like “umbrellas” with many long twigs. On the origin of this precious plant, from which the media on which the Egyptians wrote is derived, it is believed to be a native species.

Here is one more reason to go up the crystal clear, blue waters of the river of the nymph Ciane by boat.