Active Volcanoes to See

1.Mount Fuji

Honshu, Japan

Japan's perfectly symmetrical sacred cone, an artistic and spiritual icon. Climbable in summer, ringed by five lakes and shrines, visible from Tokyo on clear days.

2.Mount Vesuvius

Campania, Italy

The volcano that buried Pompeii in 79 AD, looming over Naples. A short hike reaches the steaming crater rim above one of Europe's most famous archaeological landscapes.

3.Kilauea

Hawaii (Big Island), USA

Earth's most active volcano, where you can witness live lava and glowing lava lakes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park amid raw, ever-changing landscapes.

4.Mount Etna

Sicily, Italy

Europe's tallest, most active volcano, frequently erupting above Sicily. Cable cars, lava-field hikes and near-constant Strombolian fireworks make it endlessly thrilling.

5.Mount Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

Africa's highest peak, a dormant stratovolcano rising snow-capped from the savanna. The continent's ultimate trekking summit, climbable without technical gear.

6.Mount St. Helens

Washington, USA

Famous for its catastrophic 1980 eruption that blew off its summit. The horseshoe crater and recovering blast zone offer a vivid lesson in volcanic power.

7.Mount Bromo

East Java, Indonesia

A smoking crater amid a vast sea of sand, with sunrise views over the Tengger caldera ranking among Earth's most photographed volcanic landscapes.

8.Eyjafjallajokull

Southern Region, Iceland

The glacier-capped volcano whose 2010 eruption grounded European air travel. Now a dramatic icon of Iceland's fire-and-ice scenery beneath the Eyjafjoll ice cap.

9.Mount Rainier

Washington, USA

A massive glaciated stratovolcano towering over Seattle. Its wildflower meadows and 26 glaciers make it one of America's most majestic and iconic peaks.

10.Stromboli

Aeolian Islands, Italy

The 'Lighthouse of the Mediterranean,' erupting glowing bursts every few minutes for millennia. Boat tours watch lava cascade down the Sciara del Fuoco at night.

11.Mount Teide

Tenerife, Spain

Spain's highest peak and a UNESCO site, rising from a lunar caldera. A cable car climbs near the summit above Tenerife's surreal volcanic moonscape.

12.Cotopaxi

Andes, Ecuador

One of the world's highest active volcanoes, a near-perfect snow-clad cone in the Avenue of Volcanoes. A coveted high-altitude climb near Quito.

13.Villarrica

Araucania, Chile

A glowing lava-lake stratovolcano above Pucon. Climbable with crampons and ice axe, rewarding ascents with a glimpse into its bubbling, smoking crater.

14.Sakurajima

Kyushu, Japan

One of Japan's most active volcanoes, erupting ash almost daily above Kagoshima Bay. Viewed safely from ferries, footbaths and observation decks.

15.Arenal

Alajuela, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's iconic conical volcano above hot springs and rainforest. Once spewing nightly lava, now a striking centerpiece for jungle adventure and relaxation.

16.Mount Pinatubo

Luzon, Philippines

Site of the 20th century's second-largest eruption in 1991. Its turquoise crater lake is now reached via thrilling 4x4 and trek adventures.

17.Popocatepetl

Central Mexico, Mexico

A towering, frequently active snow-capped volcano near Mexico City. 'El Popo' is a national symbol best admired from nearby Paso de Cortes.

18.Mauna Kea

Hawaii (Big Island), USA

Earth's tallest mountain measured from seabed, crowned with world-class observatories. Sacred to Hawaiians, its summit offers unmatched stargazing above the clouds.

19.Mount Erebus

Ross Island, Antarctica

The world's southernmost active volcano, holding a rare persistent lava lake. A glowing fire-mountain amid Antarctic ice, glimpsed by polar expeditions.

20.Pacaya

Escuintla, Guatemala

An accessible active volcano near Antigua where hikers roast marshmallows on warm lava rocks. Frequent eruptions and lava flows draw adventurous day-trippers.

21.Mount Yasur

Tanna Island, Vanuatu

One of Earth's most accessible erupting volcanoes, hurling glowing bombs nightly. Visitors stand at the crater rim for a primal pyrotechnic spectacle.

22.Mount Ngauruhoe

North Island, New Zealand

The conical 'Mount Doom' of Lord of the Rings, anchoring the Tongariro Alpine Crossing — widely called the world's finest one-day volcanic hike.

23.Klyuchevskaya Sopka

Kamchatka, Russia

Eurasia's tallest active volcano, a flawless cone dominating wild Kamchatka. A remote, frequently erupting giant prized by serious mountaineers and volcano-chasers.

24.Tungurahua

Andes, Ecuador

The 'Throat of Fire,' a dramatic active volcano above the resort town Banos, famous for explosive night eruptions watched from nearby swing-and-spa viewpoints.

25.Mount Agung

Bali, Indonesia

Bali's sacred highest peak, towering above the mother temple Besakih. A revered sunrise climb central to Balinese cosmology and island identity.

26.Krakatoa (Anak Krakatau)

Sunda Strait, Indonesia

The 'Child of Krakatoa,' born from the legendary 1883 eruption's caldera. A growing, smoking island visited by boat for its explosive history.

27.Mount Taranaki

North Island, New Zealand

A near-perfect symmetrical cone rising from the sea-girt Taranaki plains. Its Fuji-like form, reflected in tarns, is among New Zealand's most photographed sights.

28.Mount Aso

Kyushu, Japan

Home to one of the world's largest calderas, with the steaming, active Nakadake crater. A vast volcanic landscape of grasslands, ropeways and hot springs.

29.Tambora

Sumbawa, Indonesia

Source of 1815, history's largest recorded eruption, which caused the 'Year Without a Summer.' Its colossal six-kilometre caldera rewards a remote multi-day trek.

30.Osorno

Los Lagos, Chile

A snow-capped conical volcano mirrored in Lake Llanquihue, often likened to Fuji. The scenic crown jewel of Chile's Lake District.

31.Galeras

Narino, Colombia

One of Colombia's most active volcanoes, looming over the city of Pasto. A dramatic Andean peak with a long, restless eruptive history.

32.Mount Nyiragongo

Virunga, DR Congo

Holder of one of the world's largest persistent lava lakes. An overnight trek in Virunga rewards with a glowing cauldron of molten rock.

33.Ol Doinyo Lengai

Gregory Rift, Tanzania

The 'Mountain of God,' Earth's only volcano erupting rare cool black carbonatite lava. A steep, sacred Maasai peak in the East African Rift.

34.Mount Ararat

Eastern Anatolia, Turkey

Turkey's highest peak, a massive snow-clad dormant volcano of biblical Noah's-Ark fame. A revered, glacier-topped giant near the Armenian and Iranian borders.

35.Mount Damavand

Alborz, Iran

The highest peak in the Middle East and a Persian mythological icon. A snow-capped potentially active volcano with sulfurous fumaroles, popular with Iranian climbers.

36.Licancabur

Andes, Chile

A stunning symmetrical cone above the Atacama, mirrored in Bolivia's altiplano lagoons. Holds one of the world's highest crater lakes near San Pedro de Atacama.

37.Mount Hood

Oregon, USA

Oregon's glaciated stratovolcano and most-climbed snow peak in North America. Its iconic cone presides over Portland and historic Timberline Lodge.

38.Lassen Peak

California, USA

The southernmost Cascade volcano, last erupting 1915. Its national park bubbles with boiling mudpots, fumaroles and hot springs in a vivid hydrothermal wonderland.

39.Mount Mayon

Luzon, Philippines

Renowned for the world's most perfect volcanic cone, rising above Albay. A frequently active, breathtakingly symmetrical icon of the Philippines.

40.Mount Ruapehu

North Island, New Zealand

New Zealand's largest active volcano, with a steaming crater lake and the country's biggest ski fields on its glaciated slopes.

41.Whakaari / White Island

Bay of Plenty, New Zealand

New Zealand's most active volcano, an offshore island of steaming vents and acid lakes. A stark, otherworldly marine crater viewed by boat and air.

42.Soufriere Hills

Montserrat, Montserrat

The volcano that buried Montserrat's capital Plymouth, creating a Caribbean 'Pompeii.' Its exclusion zone and ash-buried town are eerie, unforgettable sights.

43.Pico de Orizaba

Veracruz, Mexico

Mexico's highest peak and North America's tallest volcano, a glaciated dormant giant. A coveted high-altitude mountaineering summit crowned with permanent ice.

44.Sabancaya

Andes, Peru

One of Peru's most active volcanoes near Arequipa and Colca Canyon, regularly puffing ash plumes. A dramatic Andean smoker amid condor country.

45.Hekla

Southern Region, Iceland

Iceland's most famous volcano, medievally dubbed the 'Gateway to Hell.' A long ridge-shaped peak with frequent eruptions, hikeable in calm periods.

46.Mount Bachelor

Oregon, USA

A symmetrical Cascade stratovolcano turned premier ski resort. Its snowy cone above Bend offers some of the Pacific Northwest's finest lift-served volcanic terrain.

47.Concepcion

Ometepe Island, Nicaragua

A perfect active cone forming half of Lake Nicaragua's twin-volcano Ometepe Island. A demanding jungle climb on one of the Americas' most striking island landscapes.

48.Mount Edgecumbe

Alaska, USA

A graceful Fuji-like cone rising above Sitka Sound. A snow-dusted dormant volcano framing one of southeast Alaska's most scenic coastal towns.

49.Telica

Leon, Nicaragua

An active volcano where night hikers peer into a glowing crater. Part of Nicaragua's volcanic chain famed for ash-boarding and accessible adventure.

50.Cerro Negro

Leon, Nicaragua

Central America's youngest volcano and the world's premier 'volcano boarding' spot, where thrill-seekers sled down its black ash slopes at high speed.

51.Tongariro

North Island, New Zealand

A multi-cratered massif of steaming vents and the famed Emerald Lakes. Its Alpine Crossing is one of the planet's great single-day volcanic treks.

52.Mount Karymsky

Kamchatka, Russia

One of Kamchatka's most active volcanoes, frequently exploding in remote wilderness. A classic stop on volcano-helicopter expeditions across the peninsula.

53.Fuego

Sacatepequez, Guatemala

A near-constantly erupting volcano whose nightly explosions are watched from the popular Acatenango overnight trek — among Central America's most spectacular hikes.

54.Santa Maria / Santiaguito

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

A towering volcano whose active Santiaguito lava dome below erupts hourly. Summit hikers gaze down at one of the world's most reliable eruption shows.

55.Beerenberg

Jan Mayen, Norway

The world's northernmost active volcano, a glacier-clad cone on remote Arctic Jan Mayen. A rare, hard-won sight for expedition cruises and adventurers.

56.Mount Apo

Mindanao, Philippines

The Philippines' highest peak, a dormant volcano of solfataras, lakes and forest. A prized multi-day trek and home to the endangered Philippine eagle.

57.Pico

Azores, Portugal

Portugal's highest peak, a striking conical volcano rising from the mid-Atlantic Azores. A popular sunrise climb above vineyards and whale-rich seas.

58.Erta Ale

Afar, Ethiopia

The 'Smoking Mountain,' holding one of Earth's longest-lived lava lakes in the searing Danakil Depression. An extreme, otherworldly desert volcano expedition.

59.Piton de la Fournaise

Reunion Island, France

One of the world's most active shield volcanoes, erupting frequently and safely. Hikers cross a lunar caldera to its summit on this Indian Ocean island.

60.Mount Taal

Luzon, Philippines

A volcano within a lake within a volcano near Manila — one of the world's smallest yet most picturesque and dangerously active volcanic systems.