TRAVEL AND TOUR PROPOSES:
TRAPANI SALINE EXCURSION
In the salt pans of Trapani, which imposes the reserve, where the ancient salt extraction activity is carried out, the Oasis area is 986 hectares, it is an important wetland that offers shelter to numerous species of Migratory Birds, oasis of the Pink Flamingo, managed by the WWF. The Reserve includes a coastline extending almost a thousand hectares, divided into zone A Reserve and zone B of Pre Reserve, between the municipalities of Trapani and Paceco.
The salt pans of Trapani most of the Reserve consists of private property, where salt extraction is still practiced according to traditional techniques in use for centuries. Of considerable landscape impact the presence of numerous windmills used to pump the water between the basins.
The salt pans of Trapani beyond this ethno-anthropological value, the site is characterized by being one of the most important coastal wetlands of western Sicily, a resting place for many species of migratory birds.
The salt pans of Trapani consist of a series of tanks in which the water evaporates for solar radiation. In the first tanks, called evaporants, the solution is concentrated, while in the final tank, called salting, the salt is precipitated. The ideal ratio between the evaporating and salting surfaces for the southern Mediterranean climate zone.
The virgin water taken from the sea is fed into the first tank, normally with a water-repellent system. Its initial density is about 3.5 degrees Baumé and when it reaches 5 °, it is transferred to the next tank. In this tank the concentration increases up to 11 °, and the first precipitates start to occur, of which the most significant is calcium carbonate. In the next tank, around 20 °, calcium sulfate precipitates, then in the fourth evaporating tank it reaches 25.7 ° Bé losing all the impurities that were present in the virgin water.
Finally, in the salting tank, the water, at this point called mother water, is saturated with salt and begins its process of deposition of sodium chloride at the bottom of the basins. The density reaches up to 30 °, beyond this density the mother liquors are poured into the sea or in other basins for the extraction of other salts. At the bottom of the basin remains a compact layer of 10-20 cm salt which must be crushed and harvested. The salt production season runs from April to September. Starting from 15 °, and up to 30 ° said salting area, the water can take on a reddish color due to the presence of a particular micro-algae: the Dunaliella salina, able to live in these hypersaline environments, which gives this variable color with density and ranges from light pink to brick red.
The salt pans of Trapani also constitute the habitat of different forms of life adapted to extremely salinity conditions. Among these are the Chironomids, many salt pans, now abandoned because they are no longer economically productive, have been transformed into natural wet reserves, characterized by a large number of animals, characteristic of the salt pans of Trapani is the Pink Flamingo and other breeds of birds mainly, linked to this particular ecosystem, becoming sought after destinations of naturalistic tourism and birdwatching lovers. Diptera whose red-colored larvae live on the silty bottoms of the pools contributing to their coloring, and Artemia Salina, a small crustacean which, nourishing itself of algae and debris, helps to keep the water clear, facilitating evaporation. Together with annelids, molluscs and other insects and crustaceans, they are a fundamental link in the salt-food chain, constituting a source of nourishment for the numerous birds present. At the salt pans of Trapani you can admire a suggestive landscape from the presence of numerous windmills and the strong landscape impact of the mountains of scattered salt, a journey through the pools, canals, windmills, bagli; a game of colors that at sunset are the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. Walking along the canals of Trapani´s salt pans, the only perceptible sounds are those of the waves of the sea and seagulls. The rest is just horizons, mountains of salt, and birds in flight, especially in the period from July to September. As the sun sets behind the Egadi Islands, the entire landscape is colored red, orange and yellow in contrast to the pearly white of the salt, offering a magical and unforgettable spectacle. The salt pans of Trapani are a remnant of nature, a landscape, a place of production, an aesthetic appeal, which surely deserves to be visited.
EXCURSION OF TRAPANI SALINE WITH DEPARTURE FROM TRAPANI € 70.00
EXCURSION FROM SAN VITO LO CAPO TO THE TRAPANI SALINE € 190.00
N.B. The indicated price includes a number from 1 to 3 participants and not per person, meals are not included, entrance tickets
