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Arenal Volcano Review

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Arenal Volcano

Address: Turnoff to ranger station 3½ km/2 mi east of Lake Arenal, and 2½ km/1½ mi west of Tabacón
Phone: 695-5180

Category: Volcano
Location: Arenal Volcano Area

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 4.6/5

Fodor's Review:

Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica's most active volcano, dominates the landscape of the Northern Plains. Night is the best time to see it in action: on a clear evening you can see rocks spewing skyward and molten lava rolling down its sides.

Volcán Arenal, at 1,624 meters (5,328 feet), dominates the landscape here. Volcanologists estimate Arenal's age at around 4,000 years. It lay dormant for at least 400 years until 1968. It may be local folklore, but Ticos that homesteaded this area in the 1930s and '40s referred to Arenal as "the mountain" and apparently, despite its conical shape, did not realize it was volcano. On July 29, 1968, an earthquake shook the area, and 12 hours later Arenal blew. The village of Arenal, to the west, bore the brunt of the shock waves, poisonous gases, and falling rocks. Some 100 people were killed in three days. Since then, Arenal has been in a constant state of activity—eruptions, accompanied by thunderous rumbling sounds, are sometimes as frequent as one per hour. An enormous eruption in 1998 put the fear back into the local community, though there were no casualties, and led to the closure of Route 42 and the evacuation of several nearby hotels. Another eruption two years later did kill a guide and a tourist, who may have been hiking too close. These earthshaking events reminded everyone what it really means to coexist with the world's third most active volcano.

The volcano is within 30,000-acre Arenal Volcano National Park, one of Costa Rica's largest parks and most popular destinations. Also in the park are Lake Arenal, the country's most important source of hydroelectric power, and Cerro Chato, an extinct volcano. Cerro Chato's collapsed crater, now an aquamarine lake, can be reached if you're up to vigorous and steep four-hour hike.

Cost: $7
Open: Daily 8 AM-4 PM and at night with authorized guides and groups

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by thisblonde from Bethlehem, PA, USA on 9/7/09
We stayed at Montana de Fuego at the foot of the Arenal volcano, and it was the right decision to make because we got to see this beauty every day from our bedroom. Out of 6 days, 5 nights we were able to see the volcano fully for about 2.5 days. Often times it is covered by clouds -- so much that the first day we arrived I was asking where it was! It became obvious after the rain drove the clouds away that afternoon However we did speak to another visitor who has been to Arenal 5 times and only seen the volcano twice, so give yourself a few days and hope for the best.

I recommend a horseback ride to the volcano - it's worth the 4 hours and $45 investment. We booked through the hotel directly, and they use a small ranch right across the street. Riding through farmland and rainforest and ending up at a viewpoint directly across from the volcano is quite literally picture perfect.