VOLCANOES

Since February 2020 I am living in Costa Rica. This country is home to five active volcanoes and about 60 dormant / extinct volcanoes. Their unpredictable nature calls the attention of many adventurers, trying to imagine what's going on under the surface of these powerful giants. With this feeling in mind I try to catch the intriguing and mystic landscapes Volcanoes offer...

Volcán Poás, Grecia, Costa Rica

I would like to start off with a volcano that has one of the biggest craters in the world: Volcán Poás. It has a diameter of 1,3 kilometres and a depth of 300 meters. Within the crater, there is a lake with a diameter of 400 meters and a depth of 14 meters. It's hard to imagine these dimensions without having witnessed it with your own eyes.

Volcán Poás is part of the Cordillera Volcánica Central, a volcanic mountain range that stretches over 80 kilometres through Central Costa Rica. The Cordillera Volcánica Central in it's turn is part of the Central America Volcanic Arc that stretches all the way from Guatamala to Panama. It has been formed by 'subduction': The heavier Cocos plate is diving underneath the Caribbean plate, melting into Earth's mantle in the process and because of that, building up a huge amount of pressure that results into volcanic activity on the west end of the Caribbean plate. Other Costa Rican volcanoes like the Volcán Barba, Volcán Irazú and Volcán Turrialba are also part of this Volcanic Arc.

Living at a linear distance of only 16,5 kilometres away from this giant, Volcán Poás definitely has it's daily impact on the Grecia and it's surroundings. Not only because many tourists come to stay at our hostel to pay a visit to Poás, but also because it has shaped / shapes the landscape around us.

It's always a challenge to actually get to see the crater of the Poas volcano since it's often covered in a big layer of clouds and mist. We have been lucky enough to see the crater of this impressive volcano though! Enjoy the views and let yourself be inspired to, one day, stay with us in Grecia and visit this magical place with your own eyes:

Details of the rock formations within the crater. From this viewpoint it's very hard to know how big the details in these pictures are in real life... It's something we can only imagine...

Cerro Chato, Arenal, Costa Rica

Next up is an inactive volcano: Cerro Chato, located in the shade to the famous, cone chaped and active Arenal Volcano. Chato erupted for the last time about 3500 years ago. What remains is a massive and steep hill with a huge lake in the former crater.

Although it doesn’t have the same inclination as it’s big brother Arenal, we experienced the intensity of the exercise while hiking / climbing all the way to the top of Cerro Chato. We were rewarded with a priceless view of the Arenal Volcano with the crater lake of Cerro Chato in the foreground. It was just amazing!

A well deserved rest after a big adventure...

Volcán Irazú, Cartago, Costa Rica

The hike to the top of Cerro Chato felt like covering the distance to the moon and back :-) but we almost felt like being on the moon when we paid a visit to Volcán Irazú! It's like roaming around in the scene of a music video. The open space next to the huge crater where the wind is free to blow at high speed, the vibrant colours, the special type of vegetation, the rough landscape... Scroll through the pictures below and see for yourself:

This panoramic view doesn't only grasp the Irazú crater and the incredible landscape surrounding it... On the top right hand side of the picture, next to the telecommunication antennas lurks the smoking Volcán Turrialba in the distance...!

Can you spot that the first and the last picture in the photo collage above is the same piece of land, taken from a different angle?

The way to Volcán Irazú makes the visit even more special... The curvy road that leads all the way to the top of the volcano, crosses through hilly farmlands where massive trees rise up from the soil. It looks like they could just wake up any moment and start moving, like the Ents in the Lord of the Rings movies...

In the background of this picture: the city of Cartago

I'm looking forward to visit more volcanoes and post pics of them over here. For now I hope you have enjoyed this small virtual tour along some of the volcanoes that represent part of the beautiful landscapes of Costa Rica.