For centuries, Sicilians have whispered about this forest as a place of myth. Today, ecologists call it a “climate refuge.” But for those who walk its trails, Idrisi Selva is simply magic. The name Idrisi pays homage to Muhammad al-Idrisi , the famed 12th-century Arab cartographer and geographer who lived at the court of King Roger II in Palermo. While al-Idrisi is best known for creating the Tabula Rogeriana (one of the most advanced world maps of the medieval era), local lore claims he personally ventured into the Madonie range and discovered a virgin forest so lush, so different from the arid Sicilian landscape, that he declared it a “paradiso terrestre” – an earthly paradise.
Available through Madonie Trekking (€35/person, includes naturalist guide). idrisi selva
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