If you ever drew a picture of a volcano as a child, it probably looked exactly like this one. Purely conical in shape with a crater – two actually, but it looks like a single one from below – at the top, Arenal volcano is one of the most recognizable, and most visited, sights in Costa Rica. It is currently dormant, and has been since 2011, but this young and impressive volcano has a fairly sinister recent history.

In 1968, Arenal erupted suddenly and violently. A few nearby towns were destroyed, and close to 100 people (probably more, but that’s the official count) perished. Lava flows, pyroclastic gas, ash, and red hot rocks (some as large as cars were flung more than a kilometer) destroyed much of the land and livestock to the west. From that moment, the volcano was constantly active, erupting – smaller, but still impressively – until 2011, when it stopped. Those more than 40 years of eruption attracted a lot of tourist attention, with visitors staying in nearby La Fortuna to watch the “show.” 

La Fortuna itself, a town of 10,000 give or take to the east of the volcano, was spared, as the pyroclastic flows opened a new crater on the western side of Arenal. Meaning “The Fortunate Ones,” the town takes its name from the avoidance of the disaster. It is one of the touristic centerpoints here in Costa Rica, popular with backpackers and luxury travelers alike for both the volcano and associated activities and for the centrality of its location, making day trips possible. It is also known for its hot spring spas, although they can be incredibly crowded, insanely expensive, or both.

Today, Arenal volcano is dormant, although climbing is forbidden as it could theoretically erupt again at any time as it does have a magma chamber present. (It is heavily monitored, being home to Costa Rica’s volcanism institute, so the chance of that happening with zero notice is pretty slim.) So don’t come expecting to see an eruption, despite photos on web searches of Arenal bringing up spectacular ones back from when it was regularly active.

But it is stunning nonetheless, rising about 5500 feet from mainly flat land below. This is a new volcano as far as volcanos go, with evidence of volcanic presence only going back around 7000 years. (Next door Chato volcano is about 38000 years old, for instance, and last erupted roughly 3500 years ago.)

The area around the volcano is a national park, with lush and dense rain forest on the slopes of Arenal and surrounding mountains. There are numerous areas, and I visit what is called “the peninsula”, literally a peninsula that juts out into the middle of Lake Arenal, where a paved path leads through the foliage. There are theoretically sloths and monkeys here in Arenal National Park, but my wildlife spotting is limited to birds, bugs (like an awesome golden orb spider), and several huge trails of leaf cutter ants.

After the 1968 eruption, the Costa Rican government relocated those residents of the destroyed towns who survived. With the area now empty, volcanic boulders were used to start construction of a dam at nearby Lake Arenal. A control tower was built, and then the country’s first hydroelectric dam. When it opened in 1979, the generators here provided almost 70% of Costa Rica’s power. Today that number is closer to 15%, but it remains the cornerstone of a policy that has the country at about 92% renewable energy.

With the completion of the dam, Lake Arenal enlarged, obviously, and the destroyed towns of Arenal and Tronadora now lie under water. (In the dry season, lower water levels can expose parts of those, and photos look haunting.) The lake is Costa Rica’s largest at 33 square miles, with depths up to 100 meters. As it sits outside the national park boundaries, fishing is permitted, with rainbow bass being the top catch. Likewise, speedboats and jet skis are allowed, but tour boats are the most common craft.

In addition to stunning views of Arenal volcano on a clear day from the water, the lake is a great place to spot birds, from great egrets and cormorants to mangrove swallows, hawks, and even peregrine falcons. Signage claims there are crocodiles, but in more than twenty years piloting a boat on Lake Arenal, my guide has never seen one.

Weather here can be a bit unpredictable. If one looks in chat rooms about Costa Rica, it seems a roughly 50/50 chance to see the top of Arenal volcano on a given day. So if you come only for a day and only see clouds, just trust that it is indeed there, and avail yourself of the hot springs, lake, or wildlife spotting in the jungles rather than pin all your experiential hopes on that perfect volcano photo.

Regardless of what you choose to do here at Arenal and La Fortuna, you’ll be living a huge part of what makes Costa Rica so wonderful. Volcanic activity, lush jungle, renewable energy, and diverse life make this region another wonderful one here in a stunning country.

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