Climbing to the crater of the world's most famous volcano
Rising above the Gulf of Naples, Vesuvius is the only active volcano on mainland Europe and one of the most closely watched in the world: about 600,000 people live in the "red zone" at its foot. Its last eruption was in 1944, during the Second World War; since then it has been quiet, while scientists of the oldest volcano observatory in the world, founded here in 1841, monitor it constantly.
The mountain is protected as a national park. From the car park at about 1,000 metres, a well-marked path climbs on volcanic gravel for about 1.5 km to the rim of the Gran Cono, the crater, 450 metres wide and about 300 deep, from which wisps of vapour still rise. The view embraces the whole gulf, from Naples to Capri and the Sorrento peninsula, and the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum below. On the lower slopes vineyards produce the Lacryma Christi wine.
Tip: tickets for the crater must be bought online in advance; the path is closed in strong wind or bad weather. Buses run from Ercolano and Pompeii stations.
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