Mt Vesuvius Travel Guide
Travel to Mt Vesuvius - Walk on an Active Volcano!
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Most famous for its explosive August AD79 eruption that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, Mt Vesuvius dominates the skyline to the southeast of Naples and provides an exciting adventure for those keen to explore its volcanic landscapes. Towering some 1281m (at present…) it is still full of life, its last eruption in 1944. It is a national park and a network of paths provides access.
Vesuvius origins dates to the late Pleistocene Epoch, around 200,000 years ago and thus the mountain is a young volcano, relatively speaking. Until AD79 the volcano had been dormant for many centuries but on the 24th August that year it erupted with fury burying the cities of Pompeii and Stabiae under ashes and lapilli and the city of Herculaneum under a mud flow. Pliny the Younger gave an account of the eruption.
Several more eruptions followed between the years 79 and 1631 when after some centuries a series of violent earthquakes heralded the awakening of the volcano, culminating with a major eruption on December 16, 1631. Many villages on the slopes of the volcano were destroyed and some 3,000 people were killed. During this eruption the full force of the volcano was felt with the lava flow reached the sea and the skies clouded with ash for days.
The last major eruption was in 1944 when the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, Ottaviano, and part of San Giorgio a Cremano, as well as a U.S. B-25 bomber group were destroyed.
Attractions in Mt Vesuvius
From the ticket office a trail of 860 metres starts and, in some 15-20 minutes, arrives at the west crater rim (1180 metres). The crater is a cavity over 300 metres deep, and with a circumference of around 500 metres.
The path then continues among characteristic rock formations and goes to the Capannuccia (1170 metres) and then to the highest point of Mt. Vesuvius (1281 metres). The crater can be visited all year round, except when weather is forecast to be poor Shoes and dresses must be suitable for this walk.
Activities in Mt Vesuvius
Allow around 2 hours to walk to the summit and back.
Relaxing
Allow around 2 hours to walk to the summit and back.
Getting Around
From the ticket office a trail of 860 metres starts and, in some 15-20 minutes, arrives at the west crater rim (1180 metres). The crater is a cavity over 300 metres deep, and with a circumference of around 500 metres.
The path then continues among characteristic rock formations and goes to the Capannuccia (1170 metres) and then to the highest point of Mt. Vesuvius (1281 metres). The crater can be visited all year round, except when weather is forecast to be poor Shoes and dresses must be suitable for this walk.
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