Rincón de la Vieja National Park contains an active volcano, abundant wildlife, beautiful waterfalls and some fascinating geothermal features. The immense protected area spans six different life zones ranging from tropical moist forest to lower montane rain forest. One of the park's most unique features is Las Pailas, a small area exhibiting a wide range of geothermal activity, including boiling mud pits, hot sulfur springs, fumaroles and steam vents.

Location: The park is located along the Guanacaste Mountain Range, 27 kilometers (16.8 miles) northeast of the provincial capital of Liberia.

Size: 14,083.9 hectares / 34,801.3 acres

Created: October 23, 1973

Rincón de la Vieja National Park is remarkable because of its rugged and scenic beauty and fascinating geological and volcanic wonders. The expansive park is vital to the protection of important watershed areas, and contains what is believed to be the largest wild population of Costa Rica's national flower, the purple Guaria Morada orchid.

The massive Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, towering 1,916 meters (6,286.4 feet) above sea level, contains nine different eruption points, although all but one are inactive or in a state of degradation. South of the rocky main crater is a crystal-clear, fresh-water lake.

The last period of strong eruptions occurred between 1966 and 1970, when the volcano belched out thick clouds of ash accompanied by tremors and subterranean rumbles. Other smaller eruptions took place in 1983, 1984 and 1991. Rincón de la Vieja currently presents only fumarole activity.

Las Pailas and Las Hornillas, fascinating areas with active fumaroles and hot steam vents, span approximately 50 hectares (123.6 acres) on the southern side of the base of the volcano. The areas offer a awesome up-close look at hot springs and waterfalls, boiling mud pits, sulfuric lakes, geysers that spout steaming water into the air (most impressively during the wet season), and miniature mud volcanoes in various forms.

At the park's lower elevations, some commonly observed trees include the Guanacaste, or ear tree, paradise tree, gumbo limbo and Spanish cedar. At the middle elevations, between 1,200 and 1,400 meters (3,937.2 and 4,593.4 feet) above sea level, the most abundant species of trees are: cupey, yellow manwood, gourd tree, oak, growing stick and white cypresses.

At elevations above 1,400 meters (4,593.4 feet), nearly to the peak, the forests are shorter and the trees have many branches filled with moss, lichens and epiphytes. The most common species are cupey, didymopanax and crespon. The summit of Rincón de la Vieja Volcano is covered with ash and has sparse vegetation. Frequently seen plants at the summit include cupey and poor man's umbrella.

Some areas contained forests comprised almost exclusively of cupey, and are inhabited by felines, Baird's tapirs, highland tinamous and black guans. More than 250 species of birds have been recorded inside the park, including the three-wattled bellbird, Central American curassow, black-faced solitaire, Montezuma oropendula, bank swallow, emerald toucanet, collared trogon, blue-throated goldentail hummingbird, spectacled owl, white-fronted parrot and laughing falcon.

Some of the mammals found inside the park are: red brocket, collared peccary, agouti, tayra, common long-nosed armadillo, northern tamandu, two-toed sloths and white-faced capuchin, spider and howler monkeys. Insects are abundant, especially the beautiful morpho butterflies. Four species of morpho can be seen in the park, including the large and shiny blue morpho.

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