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Best volcano destinations in Africa

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Réunion
An Island of Adventure and Beauty
8.3
More than 150 eruptions have been recorded at Piton de la Fournaise since the 1600s. The volcano is 2,621 metres high and has an 8 kilometre wide caldera called the Enclos Fouqué. A stairway path leads down from the Pas de Bellecombe viewpoint. It closes during eruptions. Olivine sand turns some nearby beaches green.
Highlights:
  • 🚁 Explore the Cirque de Mafate by air or on foot
  • 🏖️ Swim in turquoise waters at L’Ermitage Beach lagoon
  • 🌋 Hike the active Piton de la Fournaise volcano crater
Kilimanjaro National Park
Africa's Rooftop Adventure
7.4
Guides here say pole pole, Swahili for slowly slowly, to keep climbers at an easy pace. Park rules require a licensed guide on every climb. Seven official routes lead up through forest and moorland. The park covers 1,688 square kilometres and became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Highlights:
  • 🌅 Watch the sunrise above the clouds from Stella Point
  • 🌿 Hike through rainforest trails filled with colobus monkeys
  • 🏔️ Climb to Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro
Danakil Depression
Earth's Hottest, Most Alien Landscape
6.1
Trips to the Danakil Depression run from October to March. The rest of the year is far too hot. The depression lies below sea level on the Ethiopia and Eritrea border. Erta Ale means smoking mountain in the Afar language. It has held a lava lake since at least 1906.
Highlights:
  • 🧂 Explore vast white salt flats at Karum Salt Lake
  • 🌋 Trek to the glowing lava lake of Erta Ale volcano
  • 🌈 Witness surreal colors at the Dallol sulfur springs
Volcanoes National Park
Majestic volcanoes rise over misty valleys
8.5
In northwest Rwanda, 160 square kilometres of rainforest cover the slopes of five Virunga volcanoes. Mountain gorillas and golden monkeys live here. Dian Fossey arrived in 1967 and built her research centre between Karisimbi and Bisoke. She is buried in the park. It was created in 1925 to protect the gorillas.
Highlights:
  • 🏞️ Stroll through scenic Lake Kivu shoreline
  • 🐒 Spot golden monkeys in Nyungwe forest canopy
  • 🦍 Hike Volcanoes National Park's gorilla trail
Tanzania
Wild safaris meet tropical beaches
7.7
Fresh black lava turns white within hours or days on Ol Doinyo Lengai. The Maasai call this 2,962 metre peak the Mountain of God. Its carbonatite lava, rich in carbonate minerals, is cool for lava at about 540 to 590 degrees Celsius. By day it looks like oil or mud. It glows only at night.
Highlights:
  • 🐘 Explore wildlife in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
  • 🦁 Go on a safari in Serengeti National Park
  • 🗻 Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak
Mount Nyiragongo
Luminous lava flows illuminate night skies
In 1977 lava raced down Nyiragongo at up to 60 kilometres per hour. That is faster than any other lava flow on record. The volcano is 3,470 metres high and about 12 kilometres north of Goma. Its crater is about 2 kilometres wide and usually holds a lava lake.
Highlights:
  • 🏕️ Camp near the summit for sunrise views
  • 🚁 Take a helicopter tour over the lava lake
  • 🗻 Climb Mount Nyiragongo volcano's active crater rim
Mount Kilimanjaro
Africa's Roof, World's Highest Freestanding Volcano
Uhuru Peak is the top of Kibo, the tallest of three volcanic cones on Kilimanjaro. It stands 5,895 metres high. Kibo is dormant but still releases gas through vents called fumaroles. Mawenzi and Shira are extinct. The whole mountain rises about 4,900 metres above its base.
Highlights:
  • 🌅 Watch sunrise over the Serengeti plains from above the clouds
  • 🥾 Hike through rainforest and alpine desert zones on the ascent
  • 🏔️ Climb to Uhuru Peak, the summit of Africa’s highest mountain
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