National Parks of Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano National Park

The Arenal Volcano National Park, or Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal, is contained within the Arenal Conservation Area on the northern edge of the Tilarán range. The park is approximately 90km north-west of San José, making for an ideal day trip from the capital. Travelers can utilize several routes to access the park, including La Fortuna, Tilarán and the north shore of Lake Arenal.

Arenal Volcano, or Volcán Arenal, is the most active volcano in Cost Rica and stands at an impressive 1,600 metersArenal Volcano National Park is home to two volcanos. The first is Chato Volcano, which has a collapsed crater with a lagoon surrounded by forest. Next is the grand Arenal Volcano, with it's perfectly shaped conical top.

Arenal Volcano, or Volcán Arenal, stands over 1,600 meters high and is the most active of all of Costa Rica's volcanos.

Although it is often covered by clouds, lucky visitors will get to see an eruption. For a good view, it is advised to stay in one of safely-distanced lodges, and stay up late in the evening or rise before dawn, as the clouds tend to cover the volcano during most parts of the day.

Plenty of hiking trails will allow you to get close to the volcano. However, some hiking tours taking visitors up the west ridge to the the crater rim have been dissallowed for good reason. The volcano's ash, toxic fumes, and falling cinders are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

Historically, Arenal was sacred to pre-Columbian cultures, and had a major eruption on July 29th, 1968. The resulting devastation wiped out the entire populations of the nearby villages of Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacón. Arenal Volcano is one of the most famous of Costa Ricas seven historically active. The other six volcanos include Poás, Irazú, Miravalles, Orosi, Rincón de la Vieja, and Turrialba.

Travel Reviews of Arenal Volcano National Park

mistake
i was there for only 2 hr/s ,the drive from the airport to the hotel in that little red cab gave me a slip disk, so i had to return to the states because theres no doctors there to treet you unless...

Pura Vida
Beautiful place with amazing people. Sites are amazing and the hiking is refreshing. Listen and you can hear the mountain. Stay as close to the top as you can and you'll enjoy your stay more...

great tour
In January I was 3 days in the Arenal area. This place definitely should be on your To-Do list for Costa Rica. Our trip was an organized tour from the travel agency Expediciones Tropicales. Our...

Spectacular Lava Views & Fun!
We loved Arenal and had a wonderful time in Fortuna. We stayed at Los Lagos and had views of the volcano and lava flow from our rooms. The volcano was covered with clouds the first day we were there...

great times
The hotel we choose was wonderfully located at the base of the Volcano. A short drive to the Park at night time gave us a romantic and beauiful memory of the power within a volcano.

Once in a lifetime experience
I was able to get down to Costa Rica in October as part of a group of students. Arenal is amazing, especially if you can see it at night (on the active side...on the other side from La Fortuna...

It was a great experience
We went there several years ago with my 10 year old and he enjoyed it also. We stayed at a motel across from Arenal and it was awsome. The people were great and friendly. I can't think of...

its a great to lay back and see real nature
costarica is a very beatuful country its people how u r treated the nature of this country its one of the greatest place to just have fun and enjoy whats left of our life here in the usa we really...

Arenal
This place is heaven on earth. The little town of LaFortuna and San Ramon is a wonderful place to experiemce. The cost was very nice and the Hotel Arenal Paraiso was just grande I would recommend...

don't be fooled
ok dont be fooled by these crazy people the place was not that great...ok there were some really god trails...but the stores price things in the American Dollar, the volcano is always cloudy at...