Volcano Iya, Ende, Flores.
I filmed Iya from the aircraft window this morning as we descended into Ende Airport.
The volcano rises south of the runway, its summit reaching 637 metres above the Flores Sea. As the aircraft turned left on final approach, the entire edifice came into view. The cone’s symmetry was clear against the horizon. A thin white plume rose from the crater, drifting eastward. The flanks showed the erosion channels typical of older volcanic deposits.
Iya sits within the Nusa Tenggara volcanic arc, part of the chain stretching from Sumatra through Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. The volcano last erupted in 1969, sending ash over Ende and surrounding villages.
From the air, the relationship between volcano and town becomes obvious. Ende spreads along the northern coast whilst Iya dominates the southern skyline. Residents live within sight of the summit. Farmers cultivate the volcanic soils on its lower slopes.
The volcano experienced significant unrest in 2024. Seismicity increased through the year. By November, authorities raised the alert level to Level 3 and established exclusion zones extending three to five kilometres from the crater. Continuous white to grey plumes rose 300 to 350 metres above the summit. Deep volcanic earthquakes suggested magma rising from depth.
By early 2025 the activity declined. Seismicity decreased. Plume heights reduced. On 8 January 2025, the alert level was lowered back to Level 2. But deep earthquakes continued, indicating magma still present beneath the edifice.
The approach into Ende follows the coastline before turning inland for landing. That left turn offers passengers on the port side a direct view across the volcanic landscape.
Iya remains monitored by Indonesia’s volcano observatory network. Current activity level: Level 2. The mountain sits quieter now than it did in November, but the system has shown it is not dormant. It is responsive, capable of change, still connected to deeper magmatic sources.
The next eruption will come. When remains the question the monitoring stations cannot yet answer.
Copyright © Tales from the Horizon, 2026
