The dominant feature of Linosa's landscape is its volcanic crater, Monte Vulcano, which rises to 195 metres and can be climbed in about 45 minutes from the village. The path is unmaintained but obvious, winding up through native vegetation — euphorbia, wild capers, prickly pear — to the crater rim. Inside the caldera, which is ancient enough to have a dense covering of scrub, feral rabbits are sometimes visible.
From the rim the whole island is visible at once: the lighthouse headland to the northeast, the port and coloured houses of the village below, the dark coves cutting into the lava coastline, and beyond them the flat blue of the Mediterranean in every direction. On clear days Lampedusa is clearly visible to the south, and on exceptional days the Sicilian coast is discernible to the north. The crater itself is inactive; Linosa's last eruption is estimated at around 5,000 years ago.
Go in the early morning or late afternoon. The path is exposed and the terrain holds heat; midday in July or August is punishing.