Visiting
the Mount Yasur Volcano, Tanna
Yasur
is Vanuatu's most visited volcano. It's accesible and tour
operators make a good business in volcano tours although
it's easy to visit independently. It's one of the easiest
volcanos in the world to visit.
Activity
Levels and Access Rules
There are five levels of volcanic activity:
Level 0: Low activity, access
to the crater allowed.
Level 1: Normal activity, access
to the crater allowed.
Level 2: Moderate to high activity,
lava bombs may land beyond the crater rim, access to the
crater is closed.
Level 3: Severe activity with
loud explosions, lava bombs ejected up to hundreds of metres
outside the crater and large plumes of smoke and ash, access
to the summit zone is closed.
Level 4: Major eruption affecting
large areas around the volcano and possibly other parts
of Tanna and even neighbouring islands, all access closed.
Tour
guides are employed on Yasur to prevent visitors from putting
themselves in danger. Even though the access rules are clearly
defined, your guide may let you go closer than allowed.
The safe distance is beautiful but some tourists are seeking
an adrenalin rush. A few people have been killed by lava
bombs in the past which is not good for the tourism industry.
Yasur activity levels are well known by the tour operators
in Vila (also try asking the Vanuatu
Tourism Office).
There's
an entry fee of 2000 Vatu which is shared amongst the kastom
landowners around the volcano. Yasur may be Vanuatu's biggest
tourist attraction so don't be surprised to find 50 people
or more on top during most evenings in the high season (June
to September).
Taking
photos
The volcano is impressive at any time but probably best
at dusk when there's enough light to illuminate the crater
rim which gives dimension and context to your photos and
not too much light for the red lava bombs to stand out.
After dark the volcano starts to look more like a fireworks
display. Furthermore, it's much easier to set you focus
when there's still some light. If you're want better photos
then you should bring a tripod and use a high sensitivity
film or ISO setting. If you have a digital camera you should
bring spare batteries because you'll spend a lot of time
with the camera on standby, waiting for the next eruption.
More Volcanos ...
Vanuatu
also has active volcanos on Epi
(a submarine volcano), Lopevi (a dramatic cone-shaped volcano
near Epi), Ambrym (two
very destructive volcanos), Ambae
(an enormous shield volcano), Gaua
(beside a massive caldera lake) and Vanua
Lava (in the mountains). They
are all different and some keen volcano tourists aim to
visit them all!
Last updated: August 2004 by Stephen.
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