Volcano Views, Rope Swings, and Hot Springs in La Fortuna

La Fortuna is a small town in Costa Rica, northwest of the capital, San José. It’s known as a gateway to Arenal Volcano National Park, comprising 2 volcanoes. Active Arenal Volcano is still laced with lava flows. Hot springs dot the foot of the volcano, on the thermal Tabacón River. Dormant Chato Volcano has a crater lake and rainforest trails leading to La Fortuna Waterfall, with its natural pool.

We arrived to La Fortuna from Monteverde. We spent 4 nights. When We arrived , We walked around the town. We saw the Arenal Volcano without many clouds.

The next day, We walked around the town, went to El Salto (Rope Swing) and Parque Arenal Mundo Aventura. El Salto Rope Swing was the perfect place to spend several hours, taking in the views of the El Salto Waterfall, swimming through the river’s turquoise waters. In Parque Arenal Mundo Aventura, We followed a trail along the river. It was beautiful!

Another day, We went to Mirador el Silencio and El Choyin. Mirador El Silencio is a reserve that has 550 acres (225 hectares) of protected land. Around 250 acres (100 hectares) is considered primary forest. The best views of Arenal Volcano is from Mirador El Silencio. There are easy-to-moderate trails leads to a very high lookout. El Choyin is a free hot spring river and swimming hole. We were not lucky and that day was foggy and it was rainning almost the whole day.

The last day, We hang out around La Fortuna. We had lunch in a Soda. Soda is a term for a small, family-run restaurant that serves traditional Costa Rican food.