Arenal Volcano National Park protects a mysterious and unpredictable mountain that draws inquisitive visitors to its slopes like a powerful magnet. Sometimes a rumbling, belching, angry-faced volcano, sometimes peacefully snoring mountain… Sometimes a perfectly shaped, sun-bathed cone, sometimes an invisible thunder god shrouded in a deathly pale mist... Arenal Volcano often rewards hopeful visitors with displays of natural fireworks (most impressive on clear dark nights) and voluminous plumes of smoke that rise hundreds of feet into the air.

Location: The park is located in Costa Rica's northern region, in the Alajuela province, north of the Sierra Tilaran. The park entrance is about 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) southwest of the town of La Fortuna; approximately 121 kilometers (75 miles) northwest of the capital city of San José.

Size: 5,208 hectares / 12,869 acres

Created: September 30, 1991

Arenal Volcano National Park shelters a quintessential volcano, a cone-shaped mountain spewing fire, ash and smoke into the skies above its peak. At night, if it's not cloudy, visitors may see the volcano spew red lava and glowing rocks against the black sky.

During the day, visitors can explore paths that lead through the fields and forests up the base of the volcano, to viewing areas and hardened lava flows. For safety's sake, because of the serious risk involved, visitors should stay on the paths and avoid areas marked as dangerous.

Arenal is relatively young, as far as volcanoes go. Experts believe the conical tower of lava encrustations, which rises 1,633 meters (5,356 feet) above sea level, is approximately 4,500 years old. But pyroclastic materials began seeping out of the volcano long before that - between three and five million years ago, during the Mid-Pliocene ers.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution have been studying Arenal Volcano ever since its western slope burst open in the early morning of July 29, 1968, following hundreds of years of inactivity. In 1978, scientists from Costa Rica's National University began conducting field research at Arenal on a regular basis.

Today, investigators from Costa Rica's Volcanology and Seismological Observatory monitor Arenal through a network of seismographs and radio transmitters located around the base of the volcano, and stations that collect ash, radon gas, acid rain and other samples that are sent to the laboratory in Heredia for further study.

Arenal Volcano National Park contains four classifications of tropical wet and moist forests, and is home to such large mammals as agoutis, Baird's tapirs, coatis, monkeys, pacas, sloths, jaguars and white-tailed deer. The most common species of trees in these forests are Indian almond, cocobolo, chicle tree and balsa wood. Tropical bird species include the parrot, parakeet and resplendent quetzal. Fer-de-lance snakes, boa constrictors and brightly colored butterflies are also seen inside the park.

The park protects streams and rivers that drain into Arenal Lake; a man-made reservoir famous for its rainbow bass fishing and some of the world's best windsurfing. The Arenal region is the country's main source of hydroelectric energy, and water from the lake is also used to irrigate crops in the Moreica agricultural district.

The popular Tabacón River Hot Springs, located on both sides of the main road before the park, offer volcano visitors a chance to relax in dozens of soothing, naturally heated mineral pools nestled amidst lush tropical gardens at the base of the volcano.

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