Arenal National Park

      The primary attractions at Arenal Volcano National Park are, of course, the volcanoes.  Listed among the top ten most active volcanoes in the world, Arenal has not had a major eruption since July 29th, 1968.  That eruption was preceded by an earthquake and two villages were completely wiped out. The blast was felt as far away as Boulder, Colorado!  Nowadays the volcanic activity is limited to amazing lava emissions and smoldering cinder-blocks.  The volcano’s active vent is on the west side, but explosions and eruptions can be seen from any vantage point. Some days the volcano can blow several times in an hour, but it does vary.  The best time to view activity is in the early morning before the clouds roll in and in the dry season.  Park officials will close the park down if they feel that conditions are becoming too dangerous.  The other volcano at this park is the dormant, Chato, which boasts an amazing collapsed crater that is now a beautiful lagoon surrounded by forest.

Arenal volcano was sacred to the pre-Columbian tribes and it is not hard to imagine sacrifices occurring regularly.  Now it is one of Costa Rica’s jewels in their national park system, with tourists from around the world coming to enjoy outstanding views of the volcano, but also the other attractions available for visitors. There is a very interesting Museum of Vulcanicity at the Arenal Observatory lodge as well as a larger visitor’s center with museum that is currently under construction, but should be open soon.