All activities / Witness / Attend / Mount Yasur
Witness / Attend in Mount Yasur
A 361 metre active volcano on Tanna in southern Vanuatu, one of the most accessible active volcanoes on Earth. A 4WD track and a short walk lead to the crater rim, where Yasur has thrown up rock and glowing ash almost continuously for centuries, best seen at dusk from the edge of the caldera. The surrounding ash plain is home to Tanna's kastom villages and the John Frum movement.
Why here
Mount Yasur is the volcano you can walk up to and watch erupt. Standing 361 metres over the ash plain of Tanna, it has been in near-constant eruption for centuries, earning the name Lighthouse of the Pacific from the sailors who navigated by its glow, and unlike almost any other active volcano you reach the rim by a short walk from a 4WD track rather than a hard climb. At the crater edge you look straight down into vents that boom, hiss and fling incandescent bombs of lava into the air, the ground shuddering with each blast, and the show is at its most spectacular in the last light of the day when the red is vivid against the dark. The volcano is sacred to the people of Tanna, and the same trip usually takes in the island's kastom villages, hot springs and the John Frum cargo movement at Sulphur Bay, so Yasur is both a raw geological spectacle and the centre of one of the Pacific's most intact traditional cultures.
Best months
Yasur is active year round and can be visited whenever access is open, with the drier, calmer months of April to October the most comfortable for the flights and rough roads. Access depends on the volcano's alert level, set by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department: at low levels visitors reach the rim, and at higher levels the summit is closed, so trips can be changed or cancelled at short notice. Evenings are the prime viewing time as the glow shows best after dark, and the rim is cold and windy with ash and fumes, so bring warm layers and cover your eyes and lungs.
Getting there & around
Tanna is reached by a short flight from Port Vila to Whitegrass airport, and the volcano sits on the far side of the island, roughly an hour and a half away by 4WD over rough roads. Most visitors stay at bungalows or a resort near the ash plain and join an afternoon or evening tour that drives to the car park below the rim, from where it is a ten to fifteen minute walk up to the crater edge. Tours run late in the day to catch the eruptions after dark. Access is controlled by the volcano's official alert level, so build in a spare day in case the summit is closed when you arrive.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Tanna Evergreen Resort & Tours
OutfitterTanna Evergreen Resort & Tours is a locally run resort and tour desk on Tanna, near the ash plain below Mount Yasur. It runs afternoon and evening safari trips up to the rim of the active volcano, timed for the eruptions at dusk, and pairs them with kastom village visits, the John Frum cargo movement at Sulphur Bay, and coffee and hot spring stops. It is one of the few properties on the island offering higher grade rooms and a pool alongside its own guided volcano and culture tours.
Tanna Volcano Transfers and Tours
GuideTanna Volcano Transfers and Tours is a locally owned operator run by Charlie Kiti William, a Tanna teacher from Lautapunga village who started it to fund local education. It runs sunrise, afternoon and twilight trips to the rim of Mount Yasur, timed for the eruptions, alongside Yakel kastom village visits, John Frum ceremonies, hot springs and kava tasting. Tour income supports village schooling and local water and soil projects.