Bed and breakfast in the area of Torre Salsa, WWF Nature Reserve in Sicily, here's where to sleep and where to go to the beach in this corner of beautiful Sicily, read the review.
The trip was born from an article cut out from a well-known travel magazine and that I had been keeping for some years. Descriptions of the Torre Salsa Nature Reserve and the Platani River Reserve had struck me: the photos, beautiful and wild and the note on the services: there is nothing. Perfect, I thought, this is the kind of beach I like.
The area is a stretch of coast between the cities of Sciacca and Agrigento, south-western Sicily. From Palermo it can be reached in two and a half hours by car, but the Trapani airport of Birgi is also convenient and closer. Having defined the seaside destination, finding accommodation was easy: I was struck by the simplicity and elegance of the site of theCase Bianche farmhouse. The property is located in the middle of the countryside, an orderly, green and very beautiful countryside; the sea of Torre Salsa is 10 minutes away by car, but here the dimension is totally rural: sun, cicadas by day, crickets at night, cool in the evening and a lot of peace.
The house was once a farmhouse, but in its rigorous renovation it has lost those characteristics; there are three apartments, accommodating from two to four people. Both inside and outside the house everything is played on shades of white and light blue, with a result of absolute freshness.
Manages the facility Silenia, a person who puts his guests at ease and offers services that are the result of the culture of hospitality.
At Case Bianche we found the kitchen stocked with everything needed for breakfast, even if we rented the apartment for 6 days; Silenia came every two days for cleaning and did not fail to show up with a tray (or glove box) of sweets. The attention towards guests never ended: an umbrella and mats are available to take to the beach, because when you travel by plane you cannot leave with these accessories; if you wanted you could use mountain bikes; in the apartments there is the free wifi. I occupied the Lagogorgo apartment on the ground floor of the house, with a terrace overlooking the valley and two bedrooms; the price per day 80 euros.
The nearest village is Montallegro, which does not offer great attractions but shops for stocking up on food. We are halfway between Sciacca, a pleasant city with a very active port - so many fish restaurants, and Agrigento. Obviously, while we're here, a visit to the Valley of the Temples, which by the way in summer it is open until 23pm. The ticket in the evening costs 10 euros. Given the summer temperatures, I greatly appreciated the visit at night, also because when darkness falls the temples are illuminated with a very suggestive effect.
We come to the beaches
Torre Salsa is the closest. It is a large sandy beach, which is part of a WWF nature reserve. A large parking lot where you pay 3 euros per day is the only service available. Sea turtles and many other animal species nest here. The beach still has its entire dune beyond which there are mountains, not high but sufficiently inaccessible to avoid human settlements. The beach is very long (6 km) and poignant; you can stop at the rocks, continue along the strip of sand until you reach some coves. People who meet are becoming more and more rare, the sense of peace is absolute.
Montallegro it has its own marine extension, which it calls Bovo Marina. There are some bathrooms equipped, with umbrella rental; bars and restaurants. However, even here you can find long stretches of free beach that stretch towards Eraclea Minoa and towards Torre Salsa. The beach is equally beautiful, the dune is always present, surmounted by Mediterranean scrub, while towards Eraclea there is the pine forest and then a grove of eucalyptus.
La mouth of the Platani river, which meets even further west going towards Sciacca, is a nature reserve with an outlet to the sea. The beach is 5 kilometers long, and to reach it you have to walk from the free parking for half an hour between eucalyptus and pine trees. The landscape is flatter but at the end of the sandy beach the splendid dominates White Chief, a cliff of very white calcareous marl and surrounded by a clear and clean sea. On the top of the cliff is the archaeological site of Eraclea Minoa, which was a Greek city.
If, on the other hand, you head east, towards Agrigento, you will find one of the most famous natural features of Sicily, that is Scala dei Turchi in the municipality of Realmonte. The geological characteristics are the same as those of Capo Bianco, this too is a white marl cliff, but of unparalleled power and spectacularity. The rock has steps that make it look like a staircase; it is blinding in its whiteness and contrasts a lot with the sea. On foot, with a little skill, you can overcome the rock spur and go down to the wide sandy beach that is located between the sea and the wall. A place not to be missed, even if it is very popular with tourists.
