Top 10 Volcanoes in Vanuatu
Vanuatu is a thin arc of volcanic islands strung along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Several of its volcanoes are actively erupting, one of them spectacularly close, and a visit blends raw geology with Melanesian culture.
1. Mount Yasur (Tanna)
The most accessible erupting volcano in the world. A 4×4 takes visitors to the crater rim where Yasur throws incandescent bombs every few minutes. Standing on the rim at dusk is the country's signature experience.
2. Ambrym
The huge twin-vent volcanic island with two craters (Marum and Benbow) that have hosted persistent lava lakes — among the most spectacular volcanic landscapes in the Pacific.
3. Ambae / Manaro Voui
A large shield volcano on Ambae Island whose 2017–18 activity caused the evacuation of the entire island population.
4. Lopevi
A small but extraordinarily active stratovolcano, an unpopulated island whose recurrent eruptions are watched by neighbouring islands.
5. Gaua
A volcanic island in the Banks group with the active Mount Garet at its centre, sitting beside Lake Letas — one of the country's most striking landscapes.
6. Vanua Lava
A volcanic island north of Gaua with active fumaroles, hot springs and waterfalls — popular with adventurous travellers reaching the Banks Islands.
7. Epi
A double-volcano island with mostly underwater eruptions and visible land cones — best known for its dugong-watching beaches as well.
8. Tongoa
A volcanic island whose recent submarine eruptions form part of the Kuwae caldera complex; nearby villages preserve oral histories of the 1452 cataclysm.
9. Kuwae caldera (submarine)
A vast submarine caldera between Tongoa and Epi, formed by a 15th century eruption that may have been one of the largest of the millennium. Mostly invisible from the surface today.
10. Aoba's neighbour: Mota Lava
A volcanic island in the Banks Group, with sacred volcanic peaks visible across the lagoon — culturally central for the Banks region.
Travelling Vanuatu's volcanoes
Most travellers fly via Port Vila to Tanna for Yasur, then optionally charter onward to Ambrym. The remote Banks Islands volcanoes require patient planning and weather-dependent inter-island flights.
Hazard, alerts and culture
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department issues alerts and limits access during eruption phases. Cultural protocols are strong — local chiefs control access to many sites, and visiting through a village host is the norm.
See them on the map
Filter the map to Vanuatu and the volcanic arc appears strung north-south along the islands. Tanna and Ambrym dominate; the Banks Islands volcanoes complete the picture for the determined.