2023-06-08 07:10:00
“This is a miracle. Seeing the crater of the Poás volcano like this is a miracle (…). It is that of the 20 times that I come a year, only four times can I see it without the fog covering it”.
(Read here: The reasons that led to the creation of a glamping chamber in Colombia)
With the emotion of someone who never tires of seeing a wonder of nature, Jorge Avila Fonseca points with his hand to the immensity of Poás, whose crater is 1.3 kilometers in diameter and a depth of 320 meters to the flat part.
(See also: Arrival of international cruise ships to Colombia increased by 151 percent)
Jorge, a tour guide who has been in the trade for 28 years, accompanies a group of ten people that day for a trip to the Poás National Parka destination an hour and a half from San José (Costa Rica), and he confesses that he has come to the park more than 100 times and he never stops feeling the same passion of the first day when he arrives at the foot of the immense volcano.
“This is one of the few craters in the world that you can get to its viewpoint by car. We are at an altitude of 2,708 meters, and the lagoon that you see in the distance is one of the most acidic in the world, with a pH of between 1 and 1.5 acidity”, says this veteran guide from the place with an excited smile. where visitors stop to view the landscape.
In the distance, on one of the sides of the volcano, there is an intense turquoise lagoon whose temperature oscillates between 20 and 50 degrees Celsius.
“This is one of the five active volcanoes in Costa Rica, but it is completely safe to visit it,” Jorge clarifies, explaining that this national park is an area protected by the Costa Rican government, one of the most popular tourist spots in Central America and, often in turn, a monitoring center for volcanic activity.
The site is home to the Von Fratzius cone, another horseshoe-shaped crater, some 900 meters to the north, and the Botos Lagoon, an ancient crater filled with a cold ‘pool’ 400 meters in diameter and 14 meters deep. This volcanic landscape is in the forests of the Central Volcanic Cordillera, the name of the mountain range that gives life and erects these colossi.
View of the crater of the Poás volcano, in Costa Rica.
Carlos Jose Reyes. TIME
To explore the surroundings of the volcano, the site has a network of trails surrounded by vegetation and animals. On the way, Jorge explains that this is usually a favorite place for bird watching lovers due to the varieties of hummingbirds, quetzals and mountain tanagers that are often seen. While the flora abounds with oaks and green leaves, large and rough to the touch that grow in the shape of an umbrella.
This park is 50 kilometers from the capital, and the journey by car takes about an hour and a half. And although this nation is small (it barely has 51,000 square kilometers and 5 million inhabitants), The richness of its biodiversity allows travelers to see different wonders of nature in relatively short journeys.
In fact, near San José (surrounded by the Central Volcanic mountain range) are the Braulio Carrillo and Irazú Volcano national parks, favorite places for sighting species and vegetation, as well as walks along green trails to see the impressive views offered by the landscape volcanic. Therefore, the capital is the ideal place to start the adventure in Costa Rica.
San Jose, starting point
In the center of San José there are three ideal plans for lovers of history and cultural curiosities. Perhaps the first stop in this city will be a tour of the National Museum. The headquarters is in what is known as the old Bellavista Barracks. Its history is linked to the abolition of the army in Costa Rica, quite a peculiarity for a Latin American country.
It is precisely the corridors, tunnels and corridors of this barracks, where today the museum is destined to remember Costa Rican memory, since it was there where on December 1, 1948, former president José Figueres, through a symbolic act, handed over the old barracks as a sign of the abolition of the army after a period of social upheaval that dragged the country. Almost three quarters of a century have passed since this date and the National Museum is an obligatory stop to learn first hand the history of a country without an army.
Marriott Los Sueños beach, in the Pacific of Costa Rica.
Carlos Jose Reyes. TIME
The other two stops are the guided tour of the National Theater, a symbol and architectural jewel of the Costa Rican capital, and the Central Market of San José. The latter, founded in 1880, was declared a cultural heritage of the country. The tour includes knowing the varieties of products, fruits, vegetables, handicrafts and food typical of the culture.
Part of the story that is told there has to do with the so-called ‘golden bean’, as Costa Ricans call coffee. Until before the 1990s, its cultivation –and agriculture in general– was one of the key bastions of the Costa Rican economy. And although tourism is now one of the industries that drive the country the most, coffee pride is one of the attractions it has to offer.
The volcanic soils make the land fertile and ideal for harvesting and flavoring the grain. Governments in recent years have invested in coffee research and development to harvest a special export product. Near San José, in fact, a guided tour is offered in which they explain it.
An hour away by car, on the slopes of the Poás volcano, the Starbucks company opened a Coffee Tour to the public in 2018, at its Alsacia farm. It is the only farm in the world where this company produces and cultivates the ‘golden grain’. It is a land of about 240 hectares where 170 are planted with coffee plantations, and the tour precisely consists of knowing the recipe behind Costa Rican coffee and what makes it so special.
But in addition to the stories and walks that the volcanic mountain ranges that surround the center of the country contain, in just an hour and a half by car from San José you can also reach the Pacific Ocean to enjoy the sea and other adventure plans .
In the coastal town of Herradura there is a residential complex called Los Sueños that houses hotels, restaurants, beaches and places to practice sports, bike and other activities. And near this area of the Pacific is the Manuel Antonio National Park, the most visited in Costa Rica for hosting the most famous beach in Costa Rica and very desirable for snorkeling and seeing marine animals.
Because despite being a very small country, this Central American nation is home to 30 national parks and 149 protected wilderness areas in its geographical area, spread throughout the national territory. This country is also one of the 25 most megadiverse in the world and one of the 20 with the greatest number of species diversities yet to be discovered.
Ideal places to sleep…
Marriott Hacienda Belen. The ideal hotel to start your adventure in Costa Rica, given its convenient location, just 5 kilometers from the country’s main airport and local attractions. It is also in the town of Heredia, very close to San José and is ideal for reaching the Poás volcano. This Marriott takes its guests back to the coffee plantations of the country. Coffee is present in the activities, restaurants and in the spa, where you can enjoy an exfoliation with the grain, among many other treatments.
View of the Marriott Hacienda Belén hotel, located 10 minutes from Juan Santamaría International Airport
Carlos Jose Reyes. TIME
Dreams Marriott. Los Sueños Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort, is near the Pacific coast, an hour and a half from San José, this hotel is ideal for coastal plans in this area of the country. It is a resort with colonial architecture located in the Los Sueños complex, an exclusive area where there is an 18-hole golf course, restaurants and areas to practice sports. The hotel is also ideal for those who enjoy connecting with flora and fauna, while enjoying the sun and sand.
CARLOS JOSE REYES GARCIA
SPECIAL ENVOY FOR TRAVEL
*With invitation from Marriott hotels
#Costa #Rica #destination #natural #parks #volcanic #landscapes #adventure #Latin #America #International