Description
Rincón de la Vieja Volcano is the giant that rules the Guanacaste skyline, an active, multi-crater massif whose national park is part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This private tour brings together its three great treasures in a single day: geothermal activity, turquoise waterfalls and the pleasure of hot springs warmed by the volcano itself.
After a scenic drive through mountains and forest, you reach the Las Pailas sector with your bilingual guide. The trail winds through transitional forest where giant strangler figs embrace other trees and white-faced capuchins keep watch from the branches. Suddenly the ground begins to steam: hissing fumaroles, boiling gray lagoons, a small mud volcano and the famous pailas of bubbling mud. The scent of sulfur and the heat rising from the earth make the volcano's power almost tangible.
The next stop is La Oropéndola waterfall, a drop of roughly 25 meters that forms a broad pool of blue-green water. Swimming here after the hike is pure reward: cool water, the roar of the falls and light filtering through the trees create a scene that is hard to forget. After a traditional Costa Rican lunch, the day shifts pace.
The afternoon is devoted to unwinding in volcanic hot springs surrounded by greenery. Sinking into those warm, mineral-rich pools as your muscles relax and the sun begins to dip is the perfect way to close the adventure before returning to your hotel, relaxed, refreshed and full of new stories.
