Turrialba Volcano National Park

Turrialba Volcano National Park was created in 1955, and it is located in the Cartago Province, around 40 miles East of San Jose, in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area. Turrialba Volcano, of 3.328 meters high above sea level, is a stratovolcano that was dormant for over 100 years until it became active again recently. In January of 2009, some acid rain killed a lot of vegetation around the volcano.

The volcano is located in the Cartago province in Costa Rica and was named by early Spanish settlers as Torre Alba or White Tower; its name was changed to Turrialba. The reason of its name is the observed plumes of smoke pouring from its top.

Turrialba Volcano was declared a national park in 1955, and protects a 4 km diameter around the volcano. The volcano has three main craters; however, only the largest one shows any signs of volcanic activity in form of steam and sulphur vents. Although it has relatively easy access, the summit can only be reached by foot. It is surrounded by cloud forest, full of ferns, bromeliads and orquids.

There are many options to get to the park; the road is not in good condition. There are many tours that visit the park (although they required 4 x 4), as well as other touristic sites in the surrounding area, such as the Guayabo, Rivers, and beautiful landscapes, among others. There are also public buses that go to the closes city, Turrialba.

The bus station for Turrialba is Transtusa Transportation, which is located in the Street 13, and Ave. 6. The public bus leaves daily, every hour from 5:15 a.m. in the morning until 10:00 p.m., and returns (Turrialba - San Jose) hourly from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The trip takes 2 hours. To communicate with Transtusa Transportes, the phone numbers are (506) 2222-4464 and (506) 2556-4233.

Irazu Volcano

The Irazu Volcano is one of the seven active volcanos in Costa Rica. The Irazu Volcano National Park is located in the Cordillera Central close to the city of Cartago, specifically in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area and encompasses the Prusia Forest Reserve. Although it has erupted frequently, at least 23 times since 1723, its most famous eruption began in 1963 and continued until 1965.

The US President John F. Kennedy was visiting Costa Rica when the volcano erupted showering with an immense cloud of ash the capital San Jose and much of the central highlands of Costa Rica. However, since then the volcano has remained dormant, with the exception of a small phreatic eruption that happened on 1994, and that killed vegetation and some small animals with acid rain.

Irazu Volcano has several craters. The main crater is usually greenish and yellow, caused by the rainfall and dissolve minerals. Sometimes it turns to a rust-red color because of the presence of certain minerals. The inactive crater has a green Crater Lake called Diego de la Haya, and it is sometimes filled with volcanic ash. It is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. 

In very clear days, it is possible to see both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans; however, this is a very rare phenomenon due to the normal weather conditions of the country. The last Crater called Playa Hermosa, was a great asset crater at the beginning, right now the border of the crater is having its natural regeneration of flora.

Chirripo National Park

Chirripo National Park is located around 151 km away from San Jose, close to the city of Perez Zeledon (San Isidro del General). It has an extension of 50.150 hectares and it is better to visit the park during the dry season, which is December through March.

It is truly an unique National Park in the country, due to its mist and cold weather, and the flora of the Paramo life zone. Besides the Paramo, it also contains extensive areas of lower montane and montane rain forest. Chirripo National Park was declared a "Biosphere Reserve" by the UNESCO in 1982, and a year later (1983) was declared a "World Heritage Site".

Among its main attractions are mountain hiking, wildlife observation and technical rock climbing. The park has its name because of the Chirripó Peak, which is the tallest mountain in the country (3.819 meters high). Visitors should be prepared for great temperature variations (from 24º C to below 0º temperatures).

Visitors should call the National Park and arrange their stay in the shelter up in the Park. Due to its great altitude it is advice for visitors to stay in the park at least 2 days. From the entrance to the park to the top of the mountain where the shelter is, there are 15 kilometers, which is around a 10 hours hike.

Link: 10 Wonders of Costa Rica