The perfect cone
Over the fields.
ShmilyDigital — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mhlayson — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Micluna — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mhlayson — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Micluna — CC BY-SA 4.0
Mayon is an active volcano in southern Luzon in the Philippines, famous for its near-perfect cone rising alone above rice fields and coconut palms, its summit sometimes wrapped in cloud and steam. The volcano rises 2,463 m from the shore of Albay Gulf about 10 km away and is the highest point of the Bicol Region. It and its surroundings became the country's first national park on 20 July 1938, renamed Mayon Volcano Natural Park in 2000. It is the centrepiece of the Albay Biosphere Reserve declared by UNESCO in 2016, and it is the most active volcano in the Philippines, watched by the national volcanology institute from Ligñon Hill. You see it from across the fields, from the Quitinday hills or from Ligñon Hill in Legazpi; the best view is early in the morning when the summit is clear. The summit is about 14 km in a straight line northwest of Legazpi. Keep out of the danger zone around the summit, and follow the volcanology institute's warnings, as access can close when it is active.
Over the fields.
View from Legazpi.
Summit in view.
Albay Province, Bicol Region, Luzon
The danger zone around the summit is off-limits.
Early morning.