Three tour operators have been ordered to stop offering walks and tours in areas of the Arenal Volcano National Park that are off limits, said the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) this week.

Improvised trails that lead to the crater of Cerro Chato, the twin peak of Arenal Volcano, were closed with barbed wire by park rangers, due to informal tour operators using them for tourist hikes. Last Thursday rangers evacuated a group of tourists from the restricted area.

The forest is a protected area, and only official park trails can be used for hiking, said SINAC officials.

Cerro Chato, which has a lake inside its crater, is located within the Arenal Volcano National Park and is under complete preservation, meaning it is off limits for humans to explore, said Wilson Barrantes, director of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area.

National park workers repeatedly find people walking through restricted areas within the Arenal Park, and ask them to leave .

“We have sent warnings in writing, and to the tour guides that offer these walks in the park, however, many ignore these, and continue their activities. We have been able to gather evidence, and we are evaluating things with the attorney general as to whether to take legal action.”

The trails have been bushwhacked through primary forest, and are very risky due to the steep and slippery terrain in this area which receives rainfall almost year round. There are no safety features on the improvised trails, and tourists put themselves at risk by using them, said a report in the daily news outlet Amelia Rueda.

 

Visitors who discover tour operators taking people to unauthorized areas of the national park can report such activities to the national park office, or to the police.