Our Mountains | several options for you to visit

Due to its geographical location, and the fact that the country is divided by several mountain ranges, Costa Rica offers many ecosystems with varied climates and environments: from beaches to mountains and volcanoes, most of them close to the main cities.

This huge mountain chain goes from Nicaragua to Panama and is formed by three smaller groups: Guanacaste mountain range, Central volcanic range and Talamanca mountain range. An it´s a fact, that wherever you are in Costa Rica, you will have a mountain view.

Guanacaste mountain rage | volcanoes, national parks and natural reserves

This group of mountains originates near the border with Nicaragua and extends to the Central Valley. In it there are many volcanoes, national parks and natural reserves and actually starts from the Orosi and Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes up north. This last volcano is a national park and around this area you can find many tourist centers where you can practice sports like canopy and horseback riding. Southeast is the Tenorio Volcano and a few miles south you reach the Arenal Lake, which is next to the famous Arenal volcano. This volcano is still active and offers magnificent views of lava explosions, especially at night. Close to the volcano is the beautiful town of La Fortuna with great attractions for visitors. With its majestic Arenal Volcano just next to the city, this town offers a wonderful scenery to tourists. This city is well prepared to receive thousands of visitors and the infrastructure is satisfactory. There are many hotels and restaurants; one of the major attractions is the thermal waters coming from the volcano. At the Arenal Lake you can practice water sports, including windsurfing as it is a windy area, sport fishing or just sailing in this huge electrical dam. There is a legend about a town that used to be in the place that is now taken by the Arenal Lake, some people even say that in dry season it is possible to see the top of a church under the water. Although La Fortuna is not a mountain itself, you can take one of the many tours to visit the lowlands of San Carlos and all the rural areas in the northern zone of Costa Rica.

Besides the Arenal volcano, another of the main attractions of this mountain range is the natural reserve of Monteverde. This reserve is worldwide known, because of the vast biodiversity found in its highlands. You reach the town of Santa Elena, by taking an unpaved street from the northern Inter-American Highway. Santa Elena is a small town next to Monteverde, with all main services, like banks, clinics, internet cafes, post office, etc. Monteverde as well as La Fortuna are places well prepared to receive tourists. The weather is fresh almost all year long, and you can find many lodgings and restaurants for your pleasant visit. Its major attraction is the cloud forest natural reserve, which is unique with many endemic species of wild animals, insects and plants. This is a special place for researchers as well as for eco-tourists. Thousands of people visit this reserve every year to admire its diverse ecosystem or enjoy other practices like canopy, horseback riding, walks, and bird watching.

At the center of the country we reach the central mountain range, also known as the central volcanic range, due to the many volcanoes that surround the central valley. A first visit would be the city of Zarcero coming from the northern city of Ciudad Quesada. Here is one of the major attractions of the country, the Park of Zarcero, which is well known for its decorative sculptures made from cypress trees. Going east is the Poás volcano, also a national park, near the city of Alajuela, and near the town of Sarchí, a special place to observe and buy the magnificent craftsmanship of Costa Ricans. More to the east the chain extends to the Barva volcano where you can find a wonderful fresh atmosphere in every one of the mountain hotels near the city of Heredia. Surrounding the city of San José the central mountain chain extends to the city of Cartago and its magnificent Irazú volcano (3432 m / 11,260 ft), which last big eruption took place almost 40 years ago. Cartago is another excellent place for mountain tourism; cold climate and foggy atmosphere are common in these mountains full of comfortable hotels and restaurants. To the east is the Turrialba volcano, the last of the central volcanic range.

Here in the Central Mountain Range, the options are vast. From the highlands of Heredia like San José de la Montaña, going to some areas of San José and rural towns of Cartago such as Rancho Redondo, Paraíso, Orosi and Turrialba, the tourist industry has extended its wings. Cold weather and cozy cabins with fireplaces are common. Besides hotels and restaurants, tourists can enjoy many other attractions that include, canopy walks and horseback riding among others.

To the south of San José and Cartago on the way to the Valle del General you will get to the mountains that belong to the Talamanca mountain range. Cerro de la Muerte, which is crossed by the Inter-American Highway going south, is one of the first mountains. Once you get to San Isidro del General you can plan to go climbing the highest peak in the country, Cerro Chirripó, which peak is 3820 meters above the sea level (12530 ft). From there, you will admire the peaceful scenery of some glacial lakes and high mountain formations. To the east you'll find Cerro Durika and Kamuk, part of the Amistad National Park, belonging to a natural reserve shared with Panama. Besides being the highest mountains in the country, most of these lands are virgin because they are difficult to access. Some of them belong to indigenous reserves and are far from the main cities.