Volcanic Tourist Destinations in Costa Rica

Of course one of the biggest reasons tourists go to Costa Rica is the volcanoes.
They are magical, beautiful and extremely old.

In the Pacific Ring of Fire Circle alone, Costa Rica has over 200 volcanic formations that date back over to 65 million years ago. Only 100 of them now show activity though, while just 5 are classified as active volcanoes. Most of these lie to the northern part of Costa Rica, in the central highlands.

Due to the vast amount of eruptions over the past years, Costa Rica has become one of the more popular traveling spots, and also making the soil of the area very rich in many minerals and also very fertile. Because of the amount of fertility, many things have contributed from it, producing dense verdant forestation which helps support the birds and wildlife species, and is also home to numerous tropical and exotic plants and trees.

These volcanoes are also great for recreational activities such as hiking, white water rafting, sportsfishing, surfing, swimming, boating, horseback riding, kayaking, camping, mountain biking and exploration.

However, most volcanoes in Costa Rica are considered "young", because they have been formed over the last 2 million years; however each peculiar distinction shows that every volcano is their very own in their own way.

Some of the volcanoes and their own distinctions:

Volcan Irazu- is known more for its greenish-blue lake that sits in one of its craters.
Poas Volcano - is known for its crater that reserves a boiling acid lake.

The volcanoes are divided into 3 range systems. The Guanacaste Range is home to the Ricon de la Vieja, Orosi Volcano, Miravalles Volcano, Tenorio Volcano & Arenal Volcano, while the Central Volcanic Range is made up of the Poas Volcano, Barva Volcano, Irazu Volcano, & Turrialba Volcano. The Talamanca Range has only one volcano, the El Viejo. Of these ranges, the only ones that are considered active is the Arenal, Poas, Ricon de la Vieja, Orosi & Irazu.

The most famous of all the volcanoes is probably Arenal, this is because it is the most active in the whole country, and it spews hot gases and steam on a regular basis. It is said to be perfect to its very volcanic cone, it sits towering over the landscape of the Arenal National park.

However, the most accessible volcano is the Poas Volcano, which also sits in the National park. This volcano however only has one active crater, while two are dormant. The active crater is full of boiling lake acid, and the other inactive crater has an icy cold water lake which flows down the side of the volcano to the Rio Sarapiqui.