Fodor's Expert Review Piana di Ghirlanda

Starting at the town of Tracino, follow signs to the idyllic valley of Mueggen where immaculate vineyards and an intricate network of drystone walls and terraces are scattered with pepper-pot dammusi, some exquisitely restored as holiday homes, others picturesquely crumbling. From here, a narrow unpaved but drivable track leads down into the island’s most fertile valley, the Piana di Ghirlanda, before winding uphill and over into the next valley and the village of Rekale. Just beyond Rekale a narrow paved road leads steeply uphill (marked Zighidi) then runs past the Byzantine tombs and along a spectacular ridge with views down to the sea and into the Valle di Monastero. Follow signs to Sibà, to discover what may be the island's most charming village, nestled among lush greenery on the lower slopes of the Montagna Grande, then continue to the village of Bugeber, perched high above the Lago di Venere (Lake of Venus), with its green-turquoise waters filling a spent volcanic crater. There are swimming spots from the lake's beaches, and  smearing oneself with lake mud, and then lying in the sun until it is baked hard, is considered beneficial.