The Poas Volcano National Park is located in the Central Volcanic Mountain Range in the province of Alajuela easily accessible from the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica at about 50 kilometers away or an hour and a half drive. The Summit of the volcano is at 8,900 feet above sea level and has a huge crater of 950 feet deep and 1500 feet wide and it is categorized as an active Stratovolcano, with over 39 eruptions since 1928.

The last major eruptions occurred between 1952 and 1954, erupting incandescent rocks, lava and ashes, it created major agricultural issues in the area, people leaving in towns nearby had to relocate and the ash clouds affected the capital for several months. Now the volcano has constant sulphuric gas emissions, incandescent rocks can be seen and also geysers (discharge of water and steam up in the air) that are among the highest in the world, sadly they don´t occur on a daily basis.

The National Park is one of the country´s best maintained, infrastructure to receive the tourists include a museum like building with information about the park´s trails, volcano, flora and fauna; there is also a Coffee shop, souvenirs shop, restrooms and information center. The main trail that leads to the main crater is handicapped accessible.

The park´s hiking trails are amazing for discovering great variety of mammals, birds and vegetation like the quetzal, yiguirro, rabbits, squirrels, ferns, oaks, orchids just to name a few. Make sure to take the hike to the Botos Lagoon, which once was and active crater.

If you are visiting Costa Rica for pleasure or business the area has a lot to offer, one day tours from San Jose depart daily and you have plenty of options to choose from. Tour operators combine the Poas Volcano with other attractions that are nearby, such as La Paz Waterfalls, Coffee tour, the souvenir town of Sarchi and much more.

For the adventurous traveler or someone looking for a kick of adrenaline the Poas Volcano can be combined with a Canopy tour, bungee jumping of a bridge or ask your tour operator for a guided tour to the base of the crater.

To make the most of your vacation in Costa Rica, don´t miss the Poas Volcano Tour; if you would like more information about this tour please visit Costa Rica Volcano Tours, an experienced tour operator in Costa Rica.