Volcan Galeras

Galeras reaches about 4,276 metres and stands directly above Pasto, a city of several hundred thousand, which makes it one of the more closely watched volcanoes in the Americas - it is a Decade Volcano, designated for study precisely because of that proximity. In January 1993 a conference on the volcano included a field trip into the crater; it erupted while the party was inside, killing nine people, six of them scientists, and the event changed how volcanology approaches fieldwork on active vents. Eruptions have continued periodically since, with evacuations of the villages on the flanks. A flora and fauna sanctuary covers the upper slopes with paramo and cloud forest, and access depends entirely on the current alert level.

What you actually see

• An active volcano above a city - one of the closest such pairings anywhere.
• The 1993 crater eruption - which killed nine including six scientists.
• Paramo and cloud forest - in the sanctuary on the slopes.
• Access governed by alert level - which changes.

When to go

December to March, subject to the alert level. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The summit and much of the upper mountain close when activity rises, sometimes for long periods - check the geological service before planning anything. Weather is cold and often fogged. Villages on the flanks have been evacuated repeatedly.

Nearby

Pasto is below; Laguna de la Cocha is east.