Oriented nature reserve of Mount Capodarso and Valle Imera

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An important reserve within the Enna region is the Natural Reserve of Mount Capodarso and Valle dell’Imera meridionale.
The reserve includes the gorges of Capodarso, the Cave of Wonders with unexplored cavities, the remains of a Hellenic indigenous area, with a mysterious ancient staircase carved into the rock whose meaning is not yet understood.
The protected area is located along the middle part of the Vallata del Salso or Imera meridionale (Southern Imera) and surrounds the gorges of Mount Capodarso. The Salso river, with very salted waters, runs through this protected area and was navigable in the past; it was an important route between the coast and the island’s hinterland. Allegedly, it was used by the Mycenaean to get to ​​Agrigento seaside; certainly the Greeks used the valley as a way for their entry and it is not a surprise If in the whole area ancient villages have been found. Mount Capodarso is the site of an ancient Sicilian Hellenic settlement which is still anonymous and it is an integral part of the reserve, either because of the archaeological sites, but also for the scenic landscape which can be seen from its long cliff of limestone, and for the sulfur mines of Giumentaro and Giumentarello, which today are abandoned.