Tanna Island

Tanna Island

Tanna Island is located in the southern province of Vanuatu, in Tafea. This is the most populated island in the south and home to one of the most easily accessible volcanoes in the world, Yasur Volcano. Tanna measures 40 kilometers long by 19 kilometers wide and covers an area of 550 square kilometers. Its highest point is the peak of Mount Tukosmera, at 1,084 meters in the southern part of the island. The Siwi Lake was located to the northeast, east of the summit, close to the shore until mid-April 2000, when unusually heavy rains caused the lake burst down the valley into Sulphur Bay, wiping out the village without loss of life. Tanna was first inhabited around 400 BC by Melanesians from neighboring islands, and James Cook was attracted to the island by the glow of Mount Yasur, becoming the first European to visit the island in August 1774, landing in a cove at the southeastern tip of the island, which he named Port Resolution after his vessel HMS Resolution. Traders and missionaries arrived in the 19th century, and at the same time whaling ships were the first regular visitors to the island. Nowadays, the west coast is home to spectacular coral reefs for diving and snorkeling and the stunning Blue Cave, while the east coast is home to hot springs and the beautiful white and black sand beaches of Port Resolution. Inland there are many cultural villages well worth visiting, as well as the impressive Giant Banyan Tree.