The Cloud Forest, Blue Lagoon & Bubbling Crater of Poas Volcano
Highlights
- See the second widest volcano crater in the world - nearly a mile in length - and the world's largest, most acidic lagoon
- Explore the cloud forest and stunted forest of the volcano's summit and slopes
Facts
- Location : Poas Volcano National Park
- Hours : 9 a.m.
- Time Length : 6 hours departing from San Jose
- What to Bring : Light jacket, comfortable shoes, camera
Ascend to Poas Volcano, to the rim of its main water-vapor sulfuric-gas pluming crater, to the blue Botos-Lagoon crater traversing its widest dormant crater feathered with wiry, wind-swept trees, cloud forest, stunted forest and barren scrub lands.
read more closeInside the crater's center bubbles the world's largest, most acidic lagoon. The main crater is the second widest in the world, nearly a mile in length, and more than 900 feet deep with a layer of liquid sulfur at the bottom.
North of the active crater is the long-extinct Von Frantzius composite cone, the oldest crater in the central volcanic mountain range. Today it's known as Botos Lagoon. A stark contrast to the main crater, the lagoon is cool, blue and surrounded by the dense vegetation of the area's cloud forest. From the lake, a stream runs down the volcanic slopes into the Sarapiqui River.
A picturesque ride from San Jose via Highway 1 to the city of Alajuela ascending to the Volcano summit gives way to the vistas of the three main metropolitan areas of Costa Rica, the main mountain ridges that form the Central Valley and the agricultural landscape that feeds the country with coffee farms, strawberry fields and other crops.
Departure & Return
- Departure point : Tour departs from all major hotels in San Jose, Alajuela, and Heredia
- Departure time : Hotel pickup is between 20 and 50 minutes before tour start time depending on hotel location.
- Return details : Tour returns to original departure point between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.