The Grotta dei Puntali strict nature reserve is a protected area in the municipality of Carini, set up by a regional decree of 9 November 2001. The cave, also called Grotta Armetta, opens in the limestone rock, of Mesozoic age, on the lower slopes of Monte Pecoraro.
What to see
It is a cavity running mostly horizontally, about a hundred and ten metres long and fifteen wide, arranged on two levels linked by shallow shafts. It is of great palaeontological interest: the finds range from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.
For naturalists what matters most is the bat colony, made up of several species, protected by the European habitats directive as species of Community interest. The cave also houses a cave fauna, and can serve as a refuge for various mammals, small and large, and for birds.
Visiting
It is a strict reserve: whether and how one can enter should be asked of the body that manages it, before setting out.
Our editors' tip
There are two cave reserves in the municipality of Carini: this one, on the side of Monte Pecoraro, and the Grotta di Carburangeli, in the coastal plain near Villagrazia. In both you meet the same two stories, that of the bats and that of the remains left by prehistory.
