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.