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Costa Rica Volcanoes | Arenal Volcano

The Arenal Volcano is the only volcano in Costa Rica that's constantly active. It woke up after 400 years with the big 1968 eruption producing huge ash columns, explosions & glowing red lava almost every day. It is also considered one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world.

The Arenal volcano is a 1,633 meters (5,300 feet) high mountain, which is perfectly conically shaped with a crater of 140 meters. The Arenal is geologically considered a young volcano and the age is estimated to be less than 3,000 years. It is also known as "Arenal Peak" , "Pan de Azúcar", "The Canaste Volcano", "The Costa Rica", "Río Frío Volcano" or "The Guatusos Peak".

The volcano was asleep for hundreds of years and exhibited a single crater at its summit, with minor fumaroles activity, covered by dense vegetation. In 1968 it had an eruption and destroyed the small town of Tabacón. Three more craters were created on the western flanks due to the eruption, but only one of them still exist today.

You can still see ash columns, underground rumbling, glowing orange lava flows and sudden explosions on a daily base although the activity nowadays is less damaging. Almost every night the crater offers a spectacle of lights with its explosive eruptions.

The volcano is located in the northern zone of the country, fifteen kilometers southwest of La Fortuna in San Carlos. The temperature varies from 16 degrees Celsius (60,8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the high areas to 24 degrees Celsius (75,2 degrees Fahrenheit) in the low areas and the annually rainfall is around 5,000 mm (195 inches).

The Arenal Volcano area is an important watershed for the Arenal Lake Reservoir. Water from here is used for hydroelectric power, with the purpose of satisfying the electricity demand of the inter-connected national system and the Guanacaste irrigation projects.

Arenal Volcano National Park

The perfect cone is visible from most anywhere in the area, but if you want a good view of an eruption, your best bet is to stay in one of the "observatory" type lodges, and stay up late or get up with the sun. The clouds tend to move in soon after sunrise.

There were hiking tours based out of La Fortuna de Arenal which used to take you up the west ridge to the crater rim. Because of the number of people killed by ash, falling cinders and toxic fumes, this is no longer allowed.

There are still plenty of hiking trails that get you as close as is advisable.

Chato volcano it's extinct volcano (last erupted a little over 5,000 years ago) has a lopsided crater that cradles a small lake and can be easily accessed by a hiking trail starting near the Arenal Observatory lodge.

Short trails (3.4 km & 2 km) go through some young secondary forests and old lava from previous eruptions.

The Park Rangers are keeping a sharp eye on the volcanic activity and will tell you which trails are opened or not and will not hesitate to evacuate the Park if they feel it's unsafe for visitors. So you should not worry about safety.

If you do not have a car, you can take the 8h am bus in La Fortuna going to Tilaran and ask the driver to drop you off to the "Parque Nacional", which is at a 2 km walk from there to the entrance.
 

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