Active Volcanoes in Costa Rica and Where to Find Them

Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips, compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips.

Given these forces of nature can lay dormant for millennia, a volcano is not actually considered active unless it has erupted in the past 11,000 years. Local agitations, such as unusual earthquake activity and emissions of gas, are telltale signs that something stirs beneath the precipice. So, which is the best active volcano to see in Costa Rica for an awe-inspiring – but safe – experience?

For an expansive trip that takes in the best of Arenal, book onto our exclusive nine-day adventure.

Although the highest active volcano in Costa Rica, at 11,260ft (3,432m), Irazú is one of the easiest to visit, sitting within proximity of the capital, San José. It even has a road leading right up to the summit traversed by a weekly bus service. Between 1963 and 1965, a major eruption showered the nearby capital with ash and besieged the countryside with floods, landslides and mudflows. This historic penchant for catastrophe has earned Irazú the nickname El Coloso (the Colossus). On a rare cloud-free day (there’s only three or four per year), you’ll be able to see both the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea from its peak. Irazú is at least 850,000 years old.

Comprising four volcanic peaks and two craters, the summit of Volcán Tenorio is sadly off-limits to the public without special permission. The wider Tenorio Volcano National Park, however, makes this destination more than worthwhile. You’ll tread through the savannah, rainforest and elfin cloud forest before you happen upon the surreal blue of the Rio Celeste. The volcanic earth produces thermal springs and small geysers; look out for tapirs and even pumas in the undergrowth. Since 2019, the park has imposed limits on visitor numbers to avoid overcrowding, so you can be sure your visit here will be a relaxing one.

Barva is the quietest volcano on this list, with the last confirmed eruption dating back over 8,000 years. But don’t take this as a reason not to visit. Close to San José, Barva is rooted in the luscious greenery of Braulio Carrillo National Park, making it an ideal day trip. You can hike the many trails that traipse through this region, carrying you to parasitic cones sown into mountain flanks and to multiple lagoons – including the emerald Laguna de Barva, which dwells in what was the volcanic crater. When viewed from the Central Valley, Barva has three principal summits, earning it the local nickname of Las Tres Marías (the Three Marys).

This volcano, with a name that translates to Old Woman’s Corner, has nine volcanic craters. Its name is a reference to a local legend: the lover of Princess Curabanda, who was from an enemy tribe, was thrown into a crater by her angered father. In grief, she became a recluse on the mountainside, credited with healing powers in older age. Gaining access to the tempestuous crater hasn’t been possible since 2011, but the surrounding forest, hot springs and gushing falls of Rincón de la Vieja National Park make this a worthwhile trip.

The most explosive volcano on this list, Poás has erupted 40 times in the past 200 years. In 2017, an eruption led to an evacuation and closure of the Poás Volcano National Park; it was reopened to visitors with limited access to the crater in 2018. You’ll find two crater lakes near the summit. Laguna Caliente is one of the most acidic lakes in the world and supports no aquatic life, and Lake Botos is filled with cold, green water and sits in an inactive crater that last erupted in 7500BCE. The park also contains coffee plantations, so be sure to combine your sightseeing with a local brew.

Another erratic stack, the towering Turrialba measures 10,960ft (3,341m) and has had at least five meteoric eruptions in the past 3,500 years, with minor ones right into 2021. Its home, the Turrialba Volcano National Park, reopened to the public in December 2020 after an eight-year closure. Unlike the days in which hikers were able to journey down inside the main crater, a 1m (2km) safety perimeter is now in place. Like its neighbor Irazú, you can see the Pacific and Caribbean coasts on the all-too-rare clear days at this dizzying altitude.