5 of South America's most active and destructive volcanoes

1. Villarica, Chile

Our list starts with one of Chile's most active volcanoes, Villarica - known by the Mapuche natives as “Rucapillán”, which in the local dialect means “house of the spirit”. After heavy eruptions in 1964 and 1971, two years ago he again expelled lava, forcing more than 3, 000 people to evacuate the area in the south of the country.

2. Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia

Active for about 2 million years, this 5, 200-meter Colombian stratovolcano is covered by glaciers that have been shrinking due to rising temperatures. In 1985, among the 25, 000 victims of one of her biggest eruptions was the girl Oymara Sanchez, who, after struggling after three days trapped in the rubble, starred in what is considered one of the saddest pictures of the 20th century.

3. Sangay, Ecuador

Slightly higher than the harder-to-reach Nevado del Ruiz, this cone-shaped volcano, which rises over the Ecuadorian portion of the Amazon rainforest, has had three eruptions in the last 286 years - the last recorded in 1934. The difficult visibility caused by constant fogs is an obstacle for adventurers to climb.

4. Tungurahua, Ecuador

In the same national park as the Sangay is the colossal Tungurahua. At just over 5, 000 meters, it began its eruptive process in 1999 and has since interspersed periods of great activity and moments of relative calm. Its last major eruption occurred in 2013 and luckily left no victims.

5. Puyehue, Chile

Located in central Chile, this stratovolcano took over the news in July 2011 after a gigantic volcanic cloud released by it struck air traffic throughout Argentina and even affected some flights in southern Brazil. This disrupted the tourist activities of Bariloche - one of the most visited cities in the neighboring country.