Vesuvius' Crater

Not quite the 'Gates of Mordor', but exciting all the same to be on top of a volcano.

The bus dropped us off at the ticket office which is about 1,000m above sea level and we walked up to the top from there. It took around 20 minutes to reach the summit and although I wasn't quite sure what to expect at the top, I was sort of thinking there might be nothing to see. I'm delighted that I was wrong as not only did we get a clear view of the Bay of Naples and the city itself, but there was plenty of steam rising from the crater as well.

I think without the steam it would have been more difficult to imagine that we were standing on top of one of the most famous volcanoes in the world. The modern crater is not the one that erupted in 79AD, wiping out Herculaneum and Pompeii. That explosion blew half the top of the mountain away and sent a plume 20km high. Herculaneum was wiped out first, but it was not until later that Pompeii was destroyed.

What's left from that eruption is clearly visible in the sheer cliffs much further out than the modern day crater, which gives you some idea of the magnitude of the eruption.