Climb a Volcano: Our Top Ten Trips and Volcano Tours
Volcano climbing is vastly becoming a more popular activity amongst holiday makers and trekkers alike. Whether its conquering Mount Fuji or clambering up Mount St. Helens, our list of the top most explosive adventures should get you hot under the collar!
Mount St Helens, United States
This volcano reawakened in 1980 with two months of intense activity. In 1987 the southern slopes were opened for climbing. The most popular route to the summit begins at the Ptarmigan Trail.
Crampons and ropes may be needed in icy conditions. Climbers should also carry goggles or sunglasses with side shields water and gloves.
Mount Rainer, United States
This is the tallest volcano and most heavily glaciated peak in the continental United States, and is a popular training ground for Himalayan climbing expeditions.
Most of the more than 10,000 people annually who attempt the climb do so on the Disappointment Cleaver (DC) route, which ascends 9,000 vertical feet from the visitor centre at Paradise.
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Mount Fuji, Japan
This sacred volcanic mountain is the country's most popular tourist spot and the world's most visited mountain. Around 100,000 people climb Mt. Fuji each year. It last erupted in 1708.
Mt Fuji rises in the form of a typical cone about 50km across the base. At the summit of the volcano is a circular crater about 500m. The upper half of the volcano is all in white in winter.
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
The gruelling nature and exquisite beauty of this giant are often underestimated. Kilimanjaro does not disappoint those who explore its flanks and challenge its summit.
Kilimanjaro, like many other high and famous mountains, would be an easy hike if the atmosphere wasn't so thin up high. Altitude sickness is the main issue on the three to five-day hike.
Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Hawaii, United States
The island has 266 miles of rugged coastline - lava fields, high cliffs, rocky shores and limited stretches of sandy beach. It rises from sea level to the highest volcanic peaks in the islands, Mauna Kea at 13,796ft and Mauna Loa at 13,677ft.
These two towering peaks dominate the island. The island of Hawaii is the youngest in the chain of islands.
Fuya Fuya, Ecuador and the Galapagos
Lying at the northern end of the Andean Chain, Ecuador boastas some of the highest volcanoes in the world. Ascending Fuya Fuya (4,250m) Cotopaxi (5,895m) and Chimborazo (6,310m) involves strenuous but generally straightforward snow-slope climbing.
While in this region of Ecuador you can also visit many of the country's fascinating towns and villages.
Lanin, Argentina
This volcano, on the border of Chile and Argentina, is the highest in this region. The Mapuche word lanin can be loosely translated as 'the extinguished one'.
Good bivouac equipment (sleeping bag, stove) is vital. Permission to climb Lanin is not required but no accommodation is available near the start of the climb.
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
This volcano on the Bay of Naples is the only active volcano on the European mainland. A solitary mountain rising from the plain of Campania, it has a base 50km in circumference.
Famously, in the year 79AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted covering the cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii and Stabiae in ash.
For further things to do in Italy have a look at our Italy Holiday Guide
Mount Hekla, Iceland
An active volcano for centuries, Hekla is one of the most famous in the world. Old tales suggest the belief that the souls of the condemned travelled through Hekla's crater on their way to hell.
It is thought that Hekla has had at least 20 eruptions since the settlement of Iceland. The biggest eruption was in 1104. Hekla has erupted four times in the 20th century, the last time in 1991.
Pico de Orizaba, Mexico
A spectacular volcanic cone in eastern Mexico, near the city of Orizaba, on the border between the states of Veracruz and Puebla.
At an elevation of 5,610m (18,406ft) above sea level, Pico de Orizaba is the highest peak in Mexico and the third-highest in north America. The last severe eruption of Pico de Orizaba occurred in 1566.
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