Philippines Holidays - Volcanoes in the Philippines

The deadly eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991 - picture courtesy USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory

Philippine Volcanoes

Taal Volcano's inner lake

The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and has over 200 volcanoes, 22 of which are currently active in some way.

The country's highest mountain, Mt Apo, is an inactive volcano.

Several volcanoes are quite close to Manila, and the eruption of one of these - Mt Pinatubo, in 1991, caused day to turn to night in the city.

On June 15, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo began. It was one of the worst eruptions of the 20th century, lasting for nine hours and causing numerous large earthquakes due to the collapse of the summit of the mountain and the creation of a caldera.

Luzon Volcanoes - Bespoke Guided Tours

Let us arrange tours for you to experience the 3 main Volcanoes of Luzon: Pinatubo, Taal, & Mt Mayon, for yourselves! Please enquire.

The caldera reduced the peak of Mt Pinatubo from 5725 feet to 4872 feet high!

Although it is extremely difficult to predict when a volcano is likely to erupt, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, based in Manila, has monitoring stations close to several of the country's active volcanoes.

Jetskis Taal Volcano

Taal volcano is known as the largest island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island! It is also one of the smallest volcanoes in the world, and is situated not far to the south of Manila.

One of Taal's greatest eruptions in recent years was in January 1911. Many local farmers were killed by the blast, and a tidal wave across the lake drowned those in boats too. Over 1300 people died in just one day.

The town of Tagaytay gives a spectacular view of Taal Volcano and lake, and there are various activities available for visitors.

We offer excursions to Tagaytay and Taal volcano to our visitors to Manila.

Mt Pinatubo crater - picture courtesy USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory

Mt Pinatubo

Mt Pinatubo caused devastation in June 1991, when it erupted having lain inactive for 450 years.

It was one of the largest eruptions of the century. and hundreds were killed in this central area of Luzon.

The devastation wasn't helped by the fact that the eruption was accompanied by heavy rains from a typhoon, which brought the volcanic ash down onto villagers' dwellings and caused roofs to collapse.

Today you can still see the tops of buried buildings poking out from the ground.


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The symmetrical, Mt Mayon

Mt Mayon

The Philippines most active volcano is Mt Mayon, which dominates the skyline near the town of Legaspi, south of Manila in the Bicol region.

This volcano is known to have erupted 48 times, and is particularly famous for the fact that is it an almost perfectly symmetrical shape. Its crater is permanently smoldering.

We offer treks up the slopes of Mt Mayon, and details can be seen on our trekking page here. Other volcanoes you can climb in the region include Mt Bulusan, which is a few miles south of Legaspi in a beautiful area with much wildlife.

NEWS: Mt Mayon has recently been spewing ash and lava, and is being monitored. Treks are subject to local conditions, although we still offer sightseeing tours to the Bicol region to view this majestic volcano.

TIP: Combine a tour to the Mayon volcano with a trip to see the Whale Sharks of Donsol. Please enquire!

Mt Hibok-Hibok - picture courtesy doodsdpogl

Camiguin Island

Quite a mountainous island, off Mindanao, there are an amazing seven volcanoes present.

Hibok-Hibok - the only one currently active, last erupted in 1951.

The coastline of this island is quite beautiful, with its mountainous backdrop, although the sands, as you'd expect, are volcanic grey.

Mt Mambajao is the tallest of the volcanoes on this island at 5,619ft. The capital of Camiguin Island is also called Mambajao.