Costa Rica

Location: 266 km (165 mi.) northwest of San Jose via Liberia; 27 Km (17 mi.) northeast of Liberia

See North Pacific Tourism Region

Size: 14,084 Ha. (34,789 acres)

Max Elevation: Rincon de la Vieja 6,286 ft., Santa Maria 6,307 ft.
 
Date of Creation: November 1973

Part of: Guanacaste Conservation Area

About:

Rincon's claim to fame is that it is home to the La Vieja crater (aka Von Seebach crater), a 15 km-wide caldera.  Its slopes boast the country's largest populations of guaria morada, Costa Rica's national flower.

Rincon de la Vieja Volcano is the largest of five volcanoes in the Guanacaste Mountain Range. Thanks to the volcanic activity here, the countryside is marked by hot thermal pools, creeks and sulfuric ponds, with never-ceasing bubbling mud pools.  There are cracks in the earth where, especially during the rainy season, streams of rank vapor and poisoned watered gurgle up, forming gray, brimstone cones, all of this caused, geologists say, by a river of molten rock flowing just a few meters underfoot.

There are many waterfalls in the park. The most attractive is Quebrada Agria Falls (aka Hidden Waterfalls). Here a series of four waterfalls, 60 to 70 meters (200 to 230 feet) high, are located in an area blasted and ruined by volcanic eruptions.  Some have delightful swimming holes at their base. 

Rincon de la Vieja erupted in 1991. Rivers of lava boiling close under the surface of the ground set the water and mud pots (pilas de barro) to boiling, bubbling and puffing clouds of steam that rose up through lush green of the foliage.

The park's wild variety of landscape - rock strewn savannah, tropical dry forest, deciduous trees, great views of the living volcano - make it an excellent place for camping, riding and hiking.

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Weather:

Activities:

Hiking, swimming in waterfall pools and hot springs, horseback riding, bird and wildlife watching are all featured activies.

People suffering from aches and pains enjoy coming here to soak their bones in the hot, relaxing, thermal waters and volcanic mud. Anything that smells that bad, the theory goes, must be good.

From the hot springs at Las Pailas, visitors can hike or ride horses (provided by local lodges) up the trail to the volcano. It'll take you three to five hours to walk up the mountain and back, so bring a snack for tea time. Be advised there are strong winds at the top.

It might be good idea to hire one of the local guides to lead the way. You'll enjoy the trip more if you slow down a bit, take it easy, enjoy the scenery, and allow yourself a full two days to trek to the top of the mountain and back.

Camping is permitted.  Also available are restrooms, showers, and picnic areas. You can camp at the Santa Maria Station or near the Rio Colorado at Las Espuelas Station for $2 per person per day. There are bathrooms and water, but bring your own food and cooking stuff.
Camping is also permitted along the trail to the summit at several designated spots.  

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Facilities:

There are two ranger stations: the Santa Maria (Park headquarters) and the Pailas Ranger Station (also known as the Las Espuelas Station).

Trails:

A well-marked system of trails leads visitors through the forest to several of the park's attractions.

There are some wonderful hiking and riding trails that go from the ranger stations to the summit of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. Distance: from Santa Maria Ranger Station, 18 km (11 mi.); from Las Espuelas Ranger Station, 7 km (4.3 mi.). The trails lead you past hot springs, sulfur pools, bubbling mud pots, fields of purple orchids (guaria morada) and, if you're lucky, a sighting of the famous blue morpho butterfly with its electric colors.

The trail from the Santa Maria ranger station is called the Bosque Encantado. It takes you to 1 km (0.6 mi.) to hot springs and, further along, to thermal creeks, which serve hikers as natural steam baths. Three miles down the trail, you'll start hearing a peculiar bubbling sound. This means you've arrived at Las Pilas del Barro: mud pots that are forever boiling over as heat from subterranean rivers of magma melts the earth and sends it boiling up through vents in ground. Still further on, you will arrive at Las Hornillas (stoves), mysterious looking holes in the ground exhaling elegant and stinking puffs of steam.

About 1 km (0.6 mi.) past Las Hornillas is the camping area. Cross the river and you are at Las Espuelas ranger station. Press on, and you will notice that the forest becomes densely packed and lushly covered with epiphytes and mosses, products of the cool mist and rain that settle in this section of the trail.

Finally, the reward: the summit, standing quietly, triumphantly, looking down with its spectacular views of the countryside below.  These are the finest hiking and riding trails in Costa Rica.

Trail guides can be arranged at either the Pailas or Santa Maria Station.

Flora & Fauna:

Flora: Vegetation here includes Guanacaste, freijo, gumbo-limbo, bitter cedar and capulin trees. Higher up, you'll see cupey, manwood, calabash, jicaro danto and didymopanax. Near the peak, the growth is low to ground. Mosses and epiphytes cover the densely branched trees.

The most common trees up here are the cupey, didymopanax, crespon and poor man's umbrella.

Fauna: There are more than 300 species of birds, including three-wattled bellbird, roadside hawk, great curassow, black-faced solitaire, Montezuma oropendola, thumbtack, bank swallow, emerald toucanet, elegant trogon, blue-throated goldentail, spectacle owl, white-fronted amazon and guaco.

Popular mammals are the red brocket deer, collared peccary, agouti, tayra, northern tamandua, tapir, two-toed sloth, highland tinamous, howler, white-faced and spider monkeys, black guan and several cat species. Insects include four species of morpho butterfly.

Fees and Schedule:

Getting There:

There are two entrances, each with a ranger station. From Liberia drive northeast through the village of Curubande, 16 km (9.9 mi.), to the Las Espuelas ranger station. The Santa Maria ranger station is about 25 km (15.5 mi.) northeast of Liberia. La Casona, housing the ranger station, was a vacation retreat belonging to U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson before he sold it to the National Park System.

You can get a taxi or even hitchhike here and ask the driver how much he or she would charge you for a ride to the station. There are also tourist packages from San José including transportation.

Where to stay:

There are many hotels in the Liberia area and most offer tourist packages, including room and board, a horse and transportation from Liberia for $10 to $25, round trip.

Nearby:

Contact info: 

ACG: Guanacaste Conservation Area
506-666-5051

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