The erupting Yassur Volcano sets the Tanna night on fire.

Photo: Vanuatu Tourism Office

It's dusk. In one direction the forest spreads like a green mat over the island and up distant mountainsides. In the other, the ocean rolls away to infinity.

Overhead, clouds glow a dusty pink as day retreats and darkness approaches. The ground is hot beneath the soles of your shoes. The only sound is a trillion insects humming in unison and then "BOOM!", molten rock spews into the sky and your heart skips a beat.

Where are you? Standing on the rim of the world's most accessible volcano watching it explode.

Yasur Volcano rises from Tanna like a fuming beast and is believed to be a monster by local villages.

The volcano is Tanna's most visited attraction. It's a four-hour bumpy 4WD trip from the island's main town, Lenakel, to the foot of the beast, but it is well worth the effort.

The rudimentary road passes many small villages hidden in the dense undergrowth and finally traverses across a black-sand desert created over millennia by the volcano. The 4WD climbs halfway up the mountain to an ominous lava field covered in black rocks spat out of the caldera.

It's the local guide's job to ascertain whether or not it's safe to climb up to the rim. Most evenings it's deemed safe and adventurous travellers make the 40-minute climb to the top to watch the volcano explode.

All accommodation providers on Tanna organise trips to the volcano. Many people book a one-night stay on Tanna to do the climb then fly back to Port Vila the following day. It's an absolute must-do.