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Poás Volcano View Tour

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Must Visit City
Volcán Poás
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Not only has one of the largest craters in the world but is located in the forests of Central Mountain Range, which boasts magnificent natural landscapes: this is the Poas Volcano National Park. Being located . .
Country: Costa Rica
City: Volcán Poás
Duration: 6 Hour(s) - 0 Minute(s)
Tour Category: Hike
Package Itinerary

Not only has one of the largest craters in the world but is located in the forests of Central Mountain Range, which boasts magnificent natural landscapes: this is the Poas Volcano National Park.

Being located in the province of Alajuela, it offers visitors easy access to major cities of the country.
This place lets you explore its attractions through a network of trails, especially in a cold climate tempered by a faint drizzle that most of the year is imposed.

You can also enjoy the varied cuisine, worthly represented by fruits such as strawberries, as well as some dairy derivatives.

You can also appreciate cultural manifestations of communities surrounding the park, such as Poasito, Fraijanes, Varablanca, and San Pedro de Poás. These are all recommended stops for a complete tour.

MORE ABOUT POAS VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK AND TOURISTS' ACTIVITIES THERE:

Poás volcano is a powerful symbol of the geothermal forces that formed Costa Rica. When the mist and clouds part you’ll see the sulfuric, bubbling, green rain-fed lake at the bottom, surrounded by smoke and steam rising from fumaroles. Water from the lake is constantly seeping through cracks in the hot rock, evaporating and building pockets of steam.

When the pressure in these pockets exceeds the weight of the water above, the steam breaks through in geysers that rocket up to 820 feet (250 meters) high. Don’t worry about getting a shower though, the crater is 1,050 feet (320 meters) deep. At almost a mile (1.6 km) across it’s also the largest active crater in the world. New safety features have been added to protect visitors in case of, particularly heavy activity.

Poás is active, but don’t expect to see a full-fledged eruption or even any lava flow here, the most recent period of violent eruptive activity ended in 1954. The last major activity was in 1910 when nearly a million tons of ash was ejected along with an immense column of smoke and steam.

The volcano provides an excellent if the extreme example of the effects of acid rain. Around the caldera, and for several miles downwind, the vegetation is stunted brown and black by the tainted moisture that precipitates from the omnipresent clouds near the peak.

Hiking and Walking Trails
Trails that lead through cloud forest stunted and twisted, not only by volcanic emissions but the rigors of the cold windy high altitude habitat. Lake Botos fills an extinct crater at the end of one trail and is home to many cloud forest birds including hummingbirds, tanagers, flycatchers, toucanets, Costa Rica’s national bird the clay-colored robin, and the area’s most famous avian resident, the resplendent quetzal.

Poás is above the frost line, and temperatures below freezing are possible. Nearly constant winds and saturating humidity contribute to biting cold at the rim. When skies are clear pasty white tourists from up north can sunburn to a crisp in a matter of minutes under the tropical sun in the thin high altitude air.

Poás is open from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. (last entrance at 1:20 p.m.) every day including holidays but clouds over well before noon year-round and in the rainy season it may not clear off at all.

The best time to visit is always early in the morning but you can use the drop-down menu to see what the weather is likely to be like in the month you’re planning to travel.

The park may close unexpectedly at any time due to volcanic activity.

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