Great Volcanoes
Fire mountains you can actually visit. 18 places, mapped and ready to build a trip around.
Plan a trip on Trailwind →Mount Ararat
TurkeyBestJul–SepClimate-17–37°FCurrencyTRYLanguageTurkishMount Ararat, officially Mount Ağrı, also known as Masis, is a snow- capped and dormant compound volcano in easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and the Armenian highlands with an elevation of 5,137 m (16,854 ft); Little Ararat's elevation is 3,896 m (12,782 ft). The Ararat massif is about 35 km (22 mi) wide at ground base.
Teide
SpainBestJul–AugClimate18–63°FCurrencyEURLanguageSpanishTeide or Mount Teide is an active stratovolcano on the Spanish island of Tenerife, part of the Canary Islands. Its summit is the highest point in Spain and the highest of any island in the Atlantic Ocean. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Teide reaches a total height of 7,500 m (24,600 ft), making it the third-tallest volcano in the world; UNESCO and NASA also rank it as Earth's third-tallest volcanic structure. Its elevation above sea level makes Tenerife the tenth-highest island in the world.
Mauna Kea
United StatesBestApr–SepClimate21–46°FCurrencyUSDLanguageEnglishMauna Kea is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 13,803 feet above sea level, making it the highest point in Hawaii and the island with the second highest high point, behind New Guinea. The peak is about 125 ft (38 m) higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor.
Île Amsterdam
FranceBestDec–MarClimate45–57°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchÎle Amsterdam, also known as Amsterdam Island or New Amsterdam, is an island of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean that together with neighbouring Île Saint-Paul 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the south forms one of the five districts of the territory.
Hekla
IcelandBestJun–AugClimate7–43°FCurrencyISKLanguageIcelandicHekla, or Hecla, is an active stratovolcano in the south of Iceland with a height of 1,491 m (4,892 ft). Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since the year 1210. During the Middle Ages, the Icelandic Norse called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell" and the idea spread over much of Europe.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka
RussiaBestJul–SepClimate-31–23°FCurrencyRUBLanguageRussianKlyuchevskaya Sopka is an active stratovolcano, the highest mountain of Siberia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. Its steep, symmetrical cone rises roughly 100 kilometres (60 mi) inland from the Bering Sea. The volcano is part of the Volcanoes of Kamchatka UNESCO World Heritage Site. Klyuchevskaya Sopka is ranked 15th in the world by topographic isolation.
Mount Cameroon
CameroonBestNov–MarClimate32–43°FMount Cameroon is an active stratovolcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako or by its indigenous name Mongo ma Ndemi. Mount Cameroon is ranked 22nd by topographic isolation.
Mount Nyiragongo
Democratic Republic of the CongoBestJun–AugClimate34–54°FMount Nyiragongo is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of 3,470 m (11,385 ft) in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about 12 km (7.5 mi) north of the town of Goma and Lake Kivu and just 9.8 km (6.1mi) west of the border with Rwanda. The main crater is about two kilometres (1 mi) wide and usually contains a lava lake.
Parícutin
MexicoBestNov–MayClimate41–72°FCurrencyMXNLanguageSpanishParícutin is a cinder cone volcano located in the Mexican state of Michoacán, near the city of Uruapan and about 322 kilometers (200 mi) west of Mexico City. The volcano surged suddenly from the cornfield of local farmer Dionisio Pulido in 1943, attracting both popular and scientific attention.
Llullaillaco
ChileBestNov–MarClimate-11–27°FCurrencyCLPLanguageSpanishLlullaillaco is a dormant stratovolcano on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is part of the Llullaillaco National Park and lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of tall volcanic peaks on a high plateau close to the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places in the world. Its maximum elevation is most commonly given as 6,723 metres (22,057 ft), making it the second-highest active volcano in the world.
Île Saint-Paul
FranceBestDec–MarClimate50–63°FCurrencyEURLanguageFrenchÎle Saint-Paul is an island forming part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the Indian Ocean, with an area of 6 km2. The island is located about 90 km (56 mi) south of the larger Île Amsterdam 55 km2 (21 sq mi), 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) northeast of the Kerguelen Islands, and 3,000 km (1,900 mi) southeast of Réunion.
Mount Ruapehu
New ZealandBestDec–MarClimate16–46°FCurrencyNZDLanguageEnglishMount Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is 23 km (14 mi) northeast of Ohakune and 23 km (14 mi) southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island's major ski resorts and only glaciers are on its slopes.
Nevado del Ruiz
ColombiaBestVariesClimate19–36°FCurrencyCOPLanguageSpanishNevado del Ruiz, also known as La Mesa de Herveo is a volcano on the border of the departments of Caldas and Tolima in Colombia, being the highest point of both. It is located about 130 km (81 mi) west of the capital city Bogotá. It is a stratovolcano composed of many layers of lava alternating with hardened volcanic ash and other pyroclastic rocks. Volcanic activity at Nevado del Ruiz began about two million years ago, during the Early Pleistocene or Late Pliocene, with three major eruptive periods.
Taal Volcano
PhilippinesBestFeb–MarClimate75–93°FCurrencyPHPLanguageFilipinoTaal Volcano, also known as Taal Caldera, is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Manila, the volcano is the second most active volcano in the country, with 39 recorded historical eruptions, all concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake. The caldera was formed by prehistoric eruptions between less than 670,000 and less than 6,000 years ago.
Grímsvötn
IcelandBestJun–AugClimate9–37°FCurrencyISKLanguageIcelandicGrímsvötn is an active volcano with a fissure system located in Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland. The central volcano is completely subglacial and located under the northwestern side of the Vatnajökull ice cap. The subglacial caldera is at 64°25′N 17°20′W, at an elevation of 1,725 m (5,659 ft). Beneath the caldera is the magma chamber of the Grímsvötn volcano.
Volcán de Fuego
GuatemalaBestNov–MarClimate30–50°FVolcán de Fuego or Chi Q'aq' is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments.
Mount Erciyes
TurkeyBestAugClimate-2–54°FCurrencyTRYLanguageTurkishMount Erciyes is an inactive volcano in Kayseri Province, Turkey. It is a large stratovolcano surrounded by many monogenetic vents and lava domes, and one maar. The bulk of the volcano is formed by lava flows of andesitic and dacitic composition. At some time in the past, part of the summit collapsed towards the east.
Katla
IcelandBestJun–AugClimate14–39°FCurrencyISKLanguageIcelandicKatla is an active subglacial volcano in southern Iceland. This volcano has been very active historically with at least twenty documented major eruptions since 2920 BC. In its recent history though, Katla has been less active as the last major eruption occurred in 1918. These eruptions have had a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of between 4 and 5 on a scale of 0 to 8. In comparison, the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption had a VEI of 4. Larger VEI-5 eruptions are comparable to Mount St. Helens 1980 eruption.