ARENAL VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK

The 12,016-hectare Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal (8 a.m.–4 p.m., $6 admission) lies within the 204,000-hectare Arenal Conservation Area, a polyglot assemblage protecting 16 reserves in the region between the Guanacaste and Tilarán mountain ranges, and including Lake Arenal. The park has two volcanoes: Chato, whose collapsed crater contains an emerald lagoon surrounded by forest, and the perfectly conical Arenal.

The volcano (1,633 meters) is a picture-perfect cone. It’s also Costa Rica’s most active volcano and a must-see on any tourist’s itinerary. Note, however, that it is most often covered in clouds and getting to see an eruption is a matter of luck (the dawn hours are best, before the clouds roll in; seasonally, you stand a reasonable chance in dry season, and less than favorable odds in rainy season). Arenal was sacred to pre-Columbian tribes (it is easy to imagine sacrifices tossed into the inferno), but it slumbered peacefully throughout the colonial era. On 29 July 1968, it was awakened from its long sleep by a fateful earthquake. The massive explosion that resulted wiped out the villages of Tabacón and Pueblo Nuevo, whose entire populations perished. The blast was felt as far away as Boulder, Colorado.

It is regarded as one of the world’s most active volcanoes. Its lava flows and eruptions have been constant, and on virtually any day you can see smoking cinder blocks tumbling down the steep slope from the horseshoe-shaped crater that opens to the west—or at night, watch a fiery cascade of lava spewing from the 140-meter-deep crater. Some days the volcano blows several times in an hour, spewing house-size rocks, sulfur dioxide and chloride gases, and red-hot lava. The volcano’s active vent is on the western side, and the normal easterly wind blows most of the effluvia westward. Explosions and eruptions, however, occur on all sides.

MINAE’s Comisión Nacional de Emergencías recently set up four “safety zones” around the volcano and is now regulating commercial development. It’s a highly arbitrary zoning, however, and any cataclysmic eruption would devastate the entire area.

The turnoff to the entrance is 3.5 km east of Lake Arenal dam and 2.5 km west of Tabacón. The dirt access road leads 1.5 km to the ranger station (no tel.), which sells a small guide ($1) and has restrooms. A dirt road leads north from here 1.5 km to a parking lot and hiking trails.

The park headquarters (tel. 506/461-8499) is about 800 meters further west. A long-touted interpretive center was no closer to having materialized at last visit. Meanwhile, the Arenal Observatory Lodge has a small but interesting Museum of Vulcanicity.

For further information, contact the Arenal Conservation Headquarters (tel. 506/695-5180, fax 506/695-5982) in Tilarán.

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Trails
The one-km Las Heliconias Trail leads from the ranger station past an area where vegetation is recolonizing the 1968 lava flow. The trail intersects the Look-Out Point Trail, which leads 1.3 km from the ranger station to a mirador—a viewing area—from which you can watch active lava flowing. Las Coladas Trail begins at the intersection and leads 2.8 km to a lava flow from 1993.

The Los Miradores Trail begins at park headquarters and leads southwest 1.2 km to Lake Arenal. It is good for spotting wildlife. Farther east, beyond the Ríos Agua Caliente and La Danta, is the trailhead for Los Tucanes Trail, which leads to the southernmost lava flows (one hour).

You can also hike various trails at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, where trails lead to the lava fields and to Cerro Chato’s lagoon-filled extinct crater; $3 access. A guided hike is offered daily at 8:30 a.m. (complimentary to guests). The four-km-long Lava Trail (a tough climb back to the lodge; don’t believe your guide if he/she says it is “easy”) offers “howler monkeys, good birdwatching, dangerous lava” and is free; it takes about three hours round-trip. The Chato Trail (four hours) is longer and more difficult.

Hotels and tour companies in La Fortuna offer volcano tours and can arrange guides. A reader recommends Geovani Solano (tel. 506/479-9081, cell. 506/364-7926, www.geocities.com/geovaniprivatetours/), who leads a tough hike up Cerro Chato, including a canoe crossing of the crater lake.

Warning: Hiking too close to the volcano is not advisable. Heed warning signs. This isn’t Disneyland! The volcano is totally unpredictable, and there is a strong possibility of losing your life if you venture into restricted zones. In 1988, a U.S. tourist was killed when hiking to the rim, and in August 2000, a guide and child died when Arenal erupted while they were hiking up its flanks. You also risk the lives of Red Cross personnel who must look for your body.