Gently erupting volcanoes with gushing lava flows & fountains are a volcano geek’s wildest dream come true. When they are quiet, they also offer stunning hiking routes in otherworldly landscapes.
Standing next to a line of 8 erupting craters is a whole new level of the mind being blown. This was completely Off The Scale.
I stood utterly mesmerized looking upon the creation process of Earth itself.
And then there’s this beautiful yet ‘unpronounceable’ volcano, silently looming in the background. Until it erupted into world fame…
Reykjanes Peninsula is smoking hot. It may look desolate on first sight, but there are a lot of hidden treasures in its rugged interior. Including active (and sometimes erupting!) volcanoes. You will also find a myriad of steaming vents, bubbling mudpools, colourful rocks & mountains, tranquil lakes, faulty fissures and lava fields covered in thick fluffy moss. It’s a volcanic playground well worth exploring.
The greatest show on Earth ignited in Iceland in March 2021. Reykjanes kicked into action and coughed up a new volcano in Geldingadalur, a secluded valley below Fagradalsfjall. What followed is a series of breathtaking events so incredible it has blown the minds of people around the world. Multiple craters appeared, erupting simultaneously, until one of them took over and turned into a giant lava geyser. Fagradalsfjall is the beauty queen of Reykjanes and one of the most versatile eruptions the world has ever witnessed. Read all about this extraordinary volcano (and how to get there) in this extensive article.
The hike to the top of Eldfell is the one every visitor to Heimaey wants to do. It’s the famous volcano that erupted out of nowhere in January 1973. Eldfell is very colourful, the track is easily accessible, and the views are absolutely stunning in all directions. From the top you can gawk onto the impressive lava flow that was furiously roiling & boiling only a few decades ago, and single-handedly enlarged the island by several square kilometers. It’s incredible to think it didn’t even exist just over 50 years ago.
Explore the awe-inspiring beauty and majesty of these epic mountains and volcanoes. Some being both simultaneously. You just never lose your sense of wonder. And there’s nothing quite like having a Wilderness Coffee with a view! Find your mountain and see how to get there.
The enigmatic Big Island of Hawaii, where flows of lava tumble down its rocky shores into the sea. I walked across the fields of fire from Kalapana to the Kilauea coastal lava flows, and stood utterly mesmerized looking upon the creation process of Earth itself. It is one of the most mindblowing things one could ever hope to see. In this article you can read about the Kilauea lava field hike and the dynamic volcanic activity on the Big Island.
There are plenty of beautiful islands in the sea to discover. In this NaturePic series I share some of my favourite remote islands. Sprinkled across the oceans and seas, these islands are all very different in character. Find your island and see how to get there.
Cumbre Vieja Natural Park on La Palma offers stunning hiking routes amongst volcanic cones and giant craters. On the same day that Fagradalsfjall in Iceland subsided, the Cumbre Vieja volcano cracked open a new crater and roared into life on 19 September 2021. Now that this fierce volcano has settled down again, the Cumbre Vieja Ruta de los Volcanes (Volcano Route) is one of the finest walks you can do on La Palma.
Ngauruhoe featured as the terrifying Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. It’s one of the many cones of the vast Tongariro complex. You can explore Ngauruhoe and its surrounding area on the Tongariro Crossing, a beautiful walking track along 20 kilometres of steaming and colourful volcanic terrain from Mangatepopo to Ketetahi in New Zealand.
Haleakala is the House of the Rising Sun – literally. The sunrise on this volcano on Maui is of such an epic magnitude that it draws people to get up at ridiculous o’ clock at night and drive up its endless hairpin roads to the summit, in order to gawk over the ethereal beauty of its caldera when the sun lights up and paints it in otherworldly colours. You can hike all the way to Halemau’u on the other side of this vast caldera, and explore its countless craters and cinder cones.
The Fimmvörðuháls hike between Skógar and Thórsmörk is nothing short of epic. This 26 kilometer walking route takes you over the fiery pass across Eyjafjallajökull and into the fabled valley of Thórsmörk. On the top of the pass you can see the giant lava flows and new craters from the 2010 eruption. But is it possible to do all this in one day? Read all about Fimmvörðuháls the easy way, the hard way, and an unexpected grand encore on that ridiculously steep (but utterly beautiful) Útigönguhöfði mountain.