Volcanoes in Hawaii, Sicily, Philippines are erupting. Time to visit?

Rome (dpa) - Deep craters, glowing lava, high peaks: while volcanoes may be dangerous, they increasingly are tourist attractions in their own right.

They offer travellers an incomparable experience of nature – while at the same time possessing the ability to paralyse air traffic, cover the landscape with ashes and destroy villages. In short, an eruption is a life-threatening spectacle.

This week alone, footage of fresh eruptions in the Philippines, Sicily and Hawaii have been seen around the world.

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Few volcanoes have been offering quite as reliable a spectacle as Hawaii's Kilauea, which has spewed fountains of lava more than 20 times in the past five months.

But there are about 1,500 other active volcanoes throughout the world. And as more of the world has taken up travelling, the risk of travel being affected by volcanic eruptions has correspondingly grown as well.

The Mount Nyiragongo volcano in eastern Congo has an open lava lake - a spectacle at night. (Philipp Laage/dpa via Reuters Connect)

There are around 450 active volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire - 127 in Indonesia alone. In 2010, the Merapi on Java erupted, shooting clouds of ash 18 kilometres up into the sky. The area surrounding the volcano had already been evacuated days before, saving many thousands of lives. "This is a very dangerous volcano," says Thomas Walter, from a German research centre for geosciences.

But the risks posed by volcanoes aren't limited to the Ring of Fire: In Europe, for example, there's Mount Etna in Sicily, which has erupted again in May. At the same time, the volcano attracts many tourists. "It's become very easy to get up there, there are bus tours from the hotels," Walter says.

"During eruptions, volcanologists are also involved in informing tourists and keeping them away from the volcano. But tourists want to see the lava fountains at night," he says. Responsible volcanic tourism is important, says the expert.

Holidaymakers should ensure they are well-informed. The travel advisories of foreign offices in several countries warn citizens about the dangers associated with visiting volcanoes.

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island is one of the most active in the world.(Cameron Brooks/Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)/dpa via Reuters Connect)

How worried tourists should be depends on where exactly they are in a particular region. Previously, eruptions of the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii - one of the most active in the world - have caused lava flows and damage on the Big Island.

But those who wanted to spend their holidays on another Hawaiian island could do so without restrictions.

In fact, the risk of tourists being harmed by a volcanic eruption is relatively low in relation to other hazards while travelling - or while climbing the volcano. "The height and bad weather are most often underestimated," says Walter.

This applies, for example, to the popular Teide volcano on Tenerife, which is almost as high as Austria's highest peak, the Grossglockner.

"Many want to go up there, but the mountain is more than 3,700 meters high. ... It's not possible to climb it in flip-flops," he says.

Mount Etna erupting in 2024. In the past week alone, footage of fresh volcanic eruptions in the Philippines, Sicily and Hawaii have been seen around the world. Should you be getting on a plane to witness the ultimate natural spectacle? (Salvatore Cavalli/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa via Reuters Connect)

And then there are scenarios in which not just tourists are affected.

The Eyjafjallajökull volcano on Iceland erupted in 2010 and paralysed all air traffic in northern and central Europe for several days.

Nevertheless, volcanoes are still popular tourist destinations in Iceland. "We recommend discovering the F with a guide who can share knowledge, history and interesting facts," advises Sigridur Dogg Gudmundsdottir of Visit Iceland.

Outside of Europe, volcano trekking is also a popular tourist attraction. This is especially true in Central and South America.

In the Andes, impressive volcanoes more than 5,000 or even 6,000 meters high line up like a string of pearls stretching north to south. There are 80 active volcanoes in South America's Chile alone.

The Cotopaxi in Ecuador is particularly beautiful - it is also active from time to time. The ash has frequently found its way to the nearby capital, Quito.

Why are people so fascinated by volcanoes anyway? "They make the dynamics of the planet tangible," says geologist Walter.

"You can't see that a tectonic plate is slowly shifting – but you can see a volcanic eruption." And perhaps there is also some kind of ancient thinking behind it: "Fire awakens interest in mankind."

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Thumbnail courtesy of Ragnar Th. Sigurdsson/dpa via Reuters Connect.

The story was originally written and published by Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH (dpa) via Reuters Connect.