Three of the best places to experience volcanoes
These are three of the hottest spots on the planet for “lava chasers”. Chris Carter reports
In March, a volcano in southwestern Iceland, on the Reykjanes peninsula, began to erupt. Thousands of visitors have since been drawn to the Geldinga valley to watch the lava flows of what geologists say is a “minor” eruption (pictured bottom right). “But for the people of Iceland, it is a rare opportunity to see their volcanic landscape take shape,” says Egill Bjarnason in the Financial Times.
Naturally, volcanoes have to be respected. “Never watch the volcano with the wind in your face,” cautions safety volunteer Logi Sigurdsson, or you risk breathing in the toxic gases that are emitted. The crowds, however, are unperturbed. “A massive tongue of lava spreads like honey over the yellow grass,” says Bjarnason. “Someone throws a large snowball. Puff!”
Stromboli: the Lighthouse of the Med
“For those seeking to experience the raw and almost preternatural power of a volcano, you would be hard-pressed to find a better place than Stromboli,” says Robin George Andrews in The New York Times. Located northwest of Italy’s toe, Stromboli is known as the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean for a reason. “If you stand at the summit at night, and you turn your flashlight off, all you can see are diamantine flecks shimmering in the dark. In that moment, you are floating, untethered, in an endless inky pool. The inevitable rumblings of the blackened earth beneath your feet eventually remind you that you remain on this planet. And when a jet of incandescent molten rock shoots skyward and illuminates the land like a flare, you feel as if you are staring down a dragon.”
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The aftermath of eruptions creates “famously fertile ground for tourism”, says Rachel Ng for National Geographic. “Onsen ryokans” (hot spring inns), for example, have sprung up in Japanese villages close to volcanoes since the eighth century. Mount Fuji has restaurants on its flanks and Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy was a highlight of the grand tours of the 17th and 18th centuries. The “steam, crackle, and pop of active volcanoes has an allure all its own”.
In the last decade or so, fuelled in part by the rise of social media, that has attracted the “lava chasers”. It can be “the thrill of lifetime – or a fatal attraction”. In December 2019, 22 tourists were killed and 25 injured when New Zealand’s Whakaari/White Island volcano erupted. And last month, those living at the northern end of the Caribbean island of St Vincent were evacuated after La Soufrière exploded. Yet, rather than deter tourism, danger seems to fuel curiosity. Meanwhile, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa – the world’s largest active volcano – is “slowly waking up”.
A safer way to witness the power of volcanoes is to visit the Azores. Straddling the North American, African and Eurasian continental plates, these islands are a geological hotspot full of volcanic craters, says Jane Knight in The Mail on Sunday. Some of these you can walk around inside, with their “smoking fumaroles, bubbling hot springs, verdant valleys and cavernous grottoes formed from solidified lava”. The largest island of Sao Miguel has beautiful lake-filled craters, such as Sete Cidades, three miles in diameter, and filled with water in hues of blues and emerald. You can take a hike by the hydrangea-fringed Lagoa do Fogo (Lake of Fire) and, at Furnas, refuel on cozido, a kind of casserole cooked in a volcanic steam chamber. “Of the many walking trips on offer, Regent Travel has one of the best, combining the geographical highlights of Sao Miguel with the lesser-known island of Santa Maria, where you can take in its highest peak and visit an area of brightly coloured terrain known as the red desert.” (From £1,335 per person for eight days, regent-holidays.co.uk.)
Take a dip in geothermal waters
Back in Iceland, the Blue Lagoon is located in the otherworldly Unesco Global Geopark and lava field and it is understandably one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. But don’t let its popularity put you off, says Nicole Trilivas in The Spectator. You can beat the crowds by checking in to the all-suite luxury hotel The Retreat at Blue Lagoon (from ISK180,000, or £1,050, bluelagoon.com). There are even four suites with personal lagoon pools for “the ultimate private dip in the medicinal, milky blue geothermal waters”.
Discover the World also offers a trip to the Blue Lagoon (admission extra) and the Reykjanes Peninsula before heading along Iceland’s south coast, as part of its Volcanic Explorer package. (From £671, excluding flights, discover-the-world.com.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.
Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.
You can follow Chris on Instagram.
-
Nationwide hikes FlexPlus current account fee by £5 a month – is it worth it?
Nationwide’s FlexPlus current account is a favourite with customers, but it’s worth checking whether you are taking advantage of the perks after the monthly fee went from £13 to £18
By Katie Williams Published
-
Santander launches online pension that offers up to £1,000 cashback
Santander's self-invested personal pension offers customers cashback of up to £1,000 if they invest before 25 April next year - here is everything you need to know
By Chris Newlands Published
-
Autumn in Crete, the Greek island of culture
MoneyWeek Travel Katie Monk reviews the InterContinental Crete, Grecotel LUXME White Palace and the adults-only Asterion Suites & Spa
By Katie Monk Published
-
A voyage of discovery: Seven Seas Grandeur cruise
Kalpana Fitzpatrick hops aboard the Seven Seas Grandeur cruise ship for a taste of the high life at sea
By Kalpana Fitzpatrick Published
-
Umana Bali review: a warm welcome to the island of gods
MoneyWeek Travel Umana Bali on the island in Indonesia is a resort unlike any other, offering wonderful food and a vibrant culture
By Chris Carter Published
-
Review: The Store, Oxford – purveyors of excellence
MoneyWeek Travel The Store is a luxurious, new hotel in Oxford that has set up shop in a former department store in the heart of the city
By Chris Carter Published
-
A luxurious haven: Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita
The Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita is close to paradise
By Vaishali Varu Published
-
Thornbury Castle: a castle stay with pedigree
MoneyWeek Travel Few stately hotels can rival the fascinating history of Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire – or the opulence, says Matthew Partridge
By Dr Matthew Partridge Published
-
Two Turkish delights: Argos in Cappadocia and Vakko Hotel & Residence, Istanbul
MoneyWeek Travel Katie Monk explores the unusual caverns of Argos in Cappadocia and the chic Vakko Hotel & Residence, located in Turkey's largest city
By Katie Monk Published
-
Jazz Age fun in Norway: Sommerro, Oslo
MoneyWeek Travel Sommerro is the latest and swankiest hotel to open in Oslo, says Chris Carter
By Chris Carter Published