Nature; It is the harmonic combination between living beings and inert matter, thus forming a physical and tangible organism developed from consequent events, which lead to the formation of incredible and impressive phenomena, such as “El volcan Poas”, located in the province of Alajuela in the northern part of Costa Rica.
El Poás is an attraction of great natural wealth and one of the most visited places in the country. Its main crater is wonderful, and because of its incredible dimensions it is considered one of the largest in the world. Among the diversity of tourist packages that can be achieved with the aim of exploring this extraordinary area, some facilities for people with physical disabilities are also offered, as well as guided walking service in the early morning and at night, not to mention that the visitor can also observe admirable and imposing landscapes, characterized by its majestic attractions and trails offered by the National Park.
This National Park has three trails, ideal for mountaineering, which are:
The first of these is “Sendero sombrilla de pobre”, with a distance of 600 meters, the most common and well-traveled, it is the one that leads to the viewpoint of the main crater of Poás Volcano.
“sombrilla de Pobre” trail has a duration of 10 to 15 minutes, will take the visitor to the spectacular viewpoint of the main crater of the Poás Volcano, where you can observe a depression of 1320m in diameter, which has a depth of 320m, presents in the background a lagoon of 400m in diameter and 40m deep of rainy origin, rich in sulfur and acids, but it is important to note that it will be possible to observe the phenomenon only in case the climatic conditions are favorable, that is to say that the landscape is clear , so it is important to do a climate and conditions investigation before embarking on that adventure.
You can see a large number of fumaroles that indicate the permanent activity of this volcano. To the north of the Main Crater is the Von Frantzius Cone, the oldest eruptive focus on the top of the massif.
As a second option also there is; The “Laguna Botos” Trail, also called “Laguna Fria” (the cold lagoon), located in the heart of the Poás Volcano National Park, is a paved and well signposted road, where the cloud forest and the variety of plants from different species will be their companions in the 800 meters of travel.
If you are lucky and you are there in a good season, you can appreciate the Laguna Botos in all its splendor, otherwise you can only appreciate fog, it is best to be well planned and visit in the auspicious season. However, if you have enough patience and time, you can wait for it to get clear, in order to admire the famous crater 14 meters deep and 400 meters in diameter with crystal clear and cold waters located on this hiking trail.
This area has a particularity, and although it has ample vegetation and abundant green areas, it lacks mammals, one of the species that stand out are the coyotes, the weasels, the rabbits, the skunks and sporadically some feline, in addition to the bats. This is due to the irresponsible activity of Hunting and deforestation that this area has suffered.
The name “Botos” comes from the ancient indigenous people of Costa Rica. The Botos lived in the northern region of the country, on the slopes of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range, on the banks of the San Carlos and Sarapiquí rivers.
Third and last option, is the “Sendero Escalonia”, with a distance of 530 meters. Its main attraction is the birds that live there and the green of the forest, where tree ferns and plants among trees abound, this can be traveled in a time of 20 minutes.
The Poás Volcano National Park is the most visited in Costa Rica and also in Central America, and one of the most wonderful in Latin America, this park has the characteristic of being attractive to both the national tourist and the international tourist, and they mostly visit the privileged park hoping to find an unique adventure, which is propitiated by the nature. It is important to note that all the trails are equipped for whether individual, group or guided walks.
In this way, Poás is the most accessible, visited and economically important park in the country. This is due not only to its remarkable natural beauty, but also to its convenient proximity to the central region of the country and its easy access, since the road is fully paved and signposted.
To reach the park, there is a route, which is one of the most used and best known, which is: the national route No. 2 San José-Alajuela-Fraijanes-Poás Volcano (50 km); the Alajuela- San Pedro de Poás-Fraijanes-Poás Volcano route (55 km); and the route through Varablanca, which connects the region of Poás Volcano with Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, another of the many important tourist sites that Costa Rica has to offer, it is located on the Caribbean side of the country.
The tourist offer of the Poás volcano is based mostly on ecotourism. From the viewpoint, you can see the main crater of the volcano. A path through the forest communicates this section with the “Laguna Botos”, of great scenic beauty. The contact with the forest allows observing a great amount of flora and birds, especially in some specific sites in the area. Mammals are observed very rarely, except for a few mentioned above.
The schedule that the park manages is from Tuesday to Sunday, from 8:00 a.m. m. at 3:30 p.m. m., but nevertheless it is recommended to visit in the morning, when the absence of fog allows to observe the landscape better.
In the famous national park there is also a visitor center, in which there is a small museum, a cafe-restaurant and souvenir shop. For the comfort of the tourist, the site has sanitary services, electricity, security, parking, camping area, picnic area, access for the disabled and credit or debit card payment.
