The 25 best volcanoes to visit (and the 16 I've climbed, boarded or stood on)
Twenty-five volcanoes worth the early starts, the altitude and the sulphur. I've been to 16 of them: I've watched lava on Pacaya, slid down Cerro Negro on a board, camped on Acatenango opposite an erupting Fuego and walked across the acid pools of Dallol in the Danakil Depression.
For each one: where it is, when to go, how to get up it and how to book it. Volcanoes change their minds, so always check the current alert level before you go.
16 of 25 ticked off
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1 Erta Ale
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia✓ Been: October 2019
One of the very few volcanoes on earth that has had a lava lake you can walk up to and look into.
- Size
- 613 m shield volcano
- When to go
- November to February, when the Danakil is merely very hot.
- Getting there
- Only on an organised tour, usually three or four days from Mekele combined with Dallol. You hike up at night, a few hours over the lava fields. Check your government's travel advice for the Afar region first.
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2 Dallol
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia✓ Been: October 2019
Yellow, green and orange acid pools and salt chimneys in one of the hottest places on the planet. It looks like another world.
- Size
- About 125 m below sea level
- When to go
- November to February.
- Getting there
- The same Danakil tour as Erta Ale, from Mekele, with salt flats and camel caravans on the way.
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3 Acatenango
Near Antigua, Guatemala✓ Been: January 2020
You camp opposite Volcán de Fuego and watch it erupt through the night, then summit at dawn above the clouds.
- Size
- 3,976 m
- When to go
- November to April, the dry season.
- Getting there
- An overnight hike from Antigua with a guide: up in the afternoon, a night in a camp or hut near the top, summit for sunrise. It's tough and it's cold at night.
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4 Stromboli
Aeolian Islands, ItalyOn my list
It's been erupting every few minutes for thousands of years. Watching it after dark from the slope or from a boat is something else.
- Size
- 924 m
- When to go
- April to June, or September to October.
- Getting there
- Ferry or hydrofoil from Milazzo or Naples. Access to the summit has been restricted since recent eruptions, so book a guided sunset hike and check how far up they're allowed to go.
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5 Pacaya
Near Antigua, Guatemala✓ Been: November 2009 and January 2020
The easiest active volcano to get to in Central America. When it's flowing, you get close enough to toast a marshmallow.
- Size
- 2,552 m
- When to go
- November to April.
- Getting there
- About an hour from Antigua, then a guided walk of a couple of hours up through the forest onto the lava fields.
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6 Villarrica
Pucón, Chile✓ Been: December 2015
A snow-capped cone with a smoking crater at the top, and you slide most of the way down on your backside.
- Size
- 2,847 m
- When to go
- December to March.
- Getting there
- A guided day climb from Pucón with crampons and an ice axe. Climbs are cancelled when the alert level goes up, so leave spare days.
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7 Mount Etna
Sicily, ItalyOn my list
Europe's tallest active volcano, with black lava fields, old craters and Sicilian wine on its slopes.
- Size
- About 3,300 m
- When to go
- April to June, or September to October.
- Getting there
- From Catania, drive or bus to Rifugio Sapienza, then the cable car and 4x4 buses towards the summit craters with a guide.
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8 Kawah Ijen
East Java, IndonesiaOn my list
Electric-blue flames from burning sulphur at night, then a turquoise acid lake at sunrise.
- Size
- 2,799 m
- When to go
- April to October, the dry season.
- Getting there
- From Banyuwangi, start hiking around 1am to reach the crater before dawn. Wear a gas mask.
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9 Mount Batur
Bali, Indonesia✓ Been: December 2022
An easy-ish volcano with a big payoff: sunrise over the crater lake with Mount Agung and Lombok on the horizon.
- Size
- 1,717 m
- When to go
- April to October.
- Getting there
- Hotel pick-ups from Ubud in the early hours, then about two hours up in the dark with a guide to watch the sunrise.
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10 Cerro Negro
Near León, Nicaragua✓ Been: January 2020
The youngest volcano in Central America, and the one place you can go volcano boarding.
- Size
- 728 m
- When to go
- November to April.
- Getting there
- A tour from León: an hour or so hiking up with your board on your back, then down the black gravel at speed.
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11 Mount Bromo
East Java, IndonesiaOn my list
A smoking crater in a moonscape of ash, with the perfect cone of Semeru puffing away behind it.
- Size
- 2,329 m
- When to go
- April to October.
- Getting there
- Stay in Cemoro Lawang, jeep up to a viewpoint for sunrise, then walk across the Sea of Sand and climb the steps to the crater rim.
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12 Santorini
Cyclades, Greece✓ Been: October 2022
The towns sit on the rim of a giant collapsed volcano. Kayak under the cliffs and you can see the layers of the eruption.
- Size
- A flooded caldera about 11 km across
- When to go
- May to June, or September to October.
- Getting there
- Fly or ferry from Athens. Boat trips go to Nea Kameni, the volcano in the middle, where you can walk up to the crater.
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13 Concepción
Ometepe Island, Nicaragua✓ Been: February 2020
A perfect cone rising out of Lake Nicaragua, with monkeys in the forest on the way up.
- Size
- 1,610 m
- When to go
- November to April.
- Getting there
- Ferry to Ometepe from San Jorge, then a guided climb (guides are compulsory). Allow a full, hard day.
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14 Mount Fuji
Honshu, JapanOn my list
Japan's highest mountain, and watching the sun come up from the top is a rite of passage.
- Size
- 3,776 m
- When to go
- Early July to early September, the official climbing season.
- Getting there
- Most people climb overnight from the fifth station on the Yoshida Trail to reach the top for sunrise. There's now a climbing fee and a booking system, so sort it before you go.
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15 La Soufrière
St Vincent✓ Been: October 2023
It last erupted in 2021, and the crater at the top is huge.
- Size
- 1,234 m
- When to go
- December to May, the drier season.
- Getting there
- A half-day hike with a guide from the windward side, through rainforest and up onto the ash slopes.
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16 Kīlauea
Big Island, Hawaii, USAOn my list
One of the most active volcanoes in the world. When it's erupting, the night glow from the crater rim is unreal.
- Size
- 1,247 m
- When to go
- Year round.
- Getting there
- Fly to Hilo or Kona and drive to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Eruptions come and go, so check the park's updates for where the glow is.
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17 Irazú
Near Cartago, Costa Rica✓ Been: February 2020
Costa Rica's highest volcano, with a crater lake that changes colour, and on a clear day you can see both oceans.
- Size
- 3,432 m
- When to go
- December to April. Get there early, before the clouds roll in.
- Getting there
- About an hour and a half's drive from San José, and you can drive almost to the rim.
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18 Nyiragongo
Near Goma, DR CongoOn my list
Home to the world's biggest lava lake, and you sleep right on the edge of it.
- Size
- 3,470 m
- When to go
- June to August, or December to February.
- Getting there
- An overnight trek from near Goma, sleeping in huts on the rim. Treks have been suspended at times because of the conflict in eastern DRC, so check before you plan anything.
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19 Deception Island
South Shetland Islands, Antarctica✓ Been: December 2024
You sail right inside an active volcano, and walk on black volcanic beaches with steam rising off the water.
- Size
- A flooded caldera
- When to go
- November to March, the Antarctic cruise season.
- Getting there
- Only on an expedition cruise to Antarctica. Ships sail in through a narrow gap called Neptune's Bellows.
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20 Arenal
La Fortuna, Costa Rica✓ Been: May 2009
A textbook cone volcano surrounded by rainforest, waterfalls and hot springs.
- Size
- 1,670 m
- When to go
- December to April.
- Getting there
- About three hours from San José. Walk the old lava trails in the national park, then soak in the hot springs at La Fortuna.
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21 Mount Yasur
Tanna, VanuatuOn my list
You stand on the crater rim while it throws lava bombs into the air below you.
- Size
- 361 m
- When to go
- May to October.
- Getting there
- Fly from Port Vila to Tanna, then a 4x4 and a short walk to the rim, usually at dusk.
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22 Timanfaya
Lanzarote, Spain✓ Been: December 2021
Red and black craters, and a restaurant that grills your lunch over the heat coming out of the ground.
- Size
- Lava fields from the 1730s eruptions
- When to go
- Year round.
- Getting there
- Drive to the visitor centre; the Route of the Volcanoes coach tour takes you through the middle of the park.
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23 Sete Cidades
São Miguel, Azores, Portugal✓ Been: October 2013
A blue lake and a green lake side by side in the bottom of an old volcano.
- Size
- A caldera with twin lakes
- When to go
- May to September.
- Getting there
- About 40 minutes' drive from Ponta Delgada. Walk the crater rim or just stop at the Vista do Rei viewpoint.
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24 Mount Teide
Tenerife, SpainOn my list
Spain's highest point, rising out of a lunar landscape, with the shadow of the mountain stretching over the sea at sunrise.
- Size
- 3,715 m, Spain's highest mountain
- When to go
- April to June, or September to October.
- Getting there
- Take the cable car most of the way. To walk the final path to the summit you need a free permit, which gets booked up weeks ahead.
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25 El Totumo
Near Cartagena, Colombia✓ Been: March 2016
A small mud volcano you climb into and float in like a cork, then get scrubbed off in the lake by the local ladies.
- Size
- About 15 m
- When to go
- December to April.
- Getting there
- About an hour from Cartagena; most people book a half-day trip.
Pick one, set the alarm for stupid o'clock and go and see the planet doing its thing. Then tell me which one should be next on my list.
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