Volcanoes Trek in the Philippines – Including Mt. Mayon & Mt. Pinatubo (June 2023)

A short flight from Manila to the Bicol Region, at the southern end of Luzon Island, you encounter what might be the most stunning volcano on the planet, Mt Mayon…the most active volcano in the Philippines. Mayon is renowned for its perfect conical shape, exactly what comes to mind when you think of a volcano. In the morning, the skies cleared, and it was truly a “Wow” experience to see Mayon beautifully reflected in the water of rice-paddy fields. The following day, my group left our campsite at 3:30am to hike up Mt Masaraga, an inactive volcano, to get a close-up of Mayon at dawn. And what we saw was Mayon smoking, “the beginning of an eruption,” said our guide. A few days later after returning stateside, the Alert Level in Bicol had been raised from Level 1 (smoking volcano) to Level 3 (spewing lava and boulders), with mandatory evacuations for some 14000 locals. The eruption would continue until the end of 2023.