Did you know that Costa Rica has over 120 volcanic cones? Some are extinct, others inactive and 6 of them remain active.
The most important volcano eruptions in Costa Rica are: 1953-1955 Poas Volcano, 1963-1965 Irazu Volcano, 1968 Arenal, 1966-1970 and during the 1990 Rincon de la Vieja and more recently the Turrialba Volcano.

Costa Rica is divided by three different mountain ranges, the Cordillera Volcanica Central (Central Volcanic Mountain Range) where you can find the volcanoes: Porvenir, Platanar, Poas, Barva, Irazu and Turrialba; the Cordillera de Guanacaste (Guanacaste Mountain Range) where volcanoes include: Orosi, Rincon de La Vieja, Miravalles, Tenorio and Arenal; and the Cordillera de Talamanca (Talamanca Mountain Range) this last one doesn’t have any volcanic cones.

One of the volcanoes that stands out among the others is the Rincon de la Vieja. The Rincon de la Vieja is the only active volcano in the Guancaste Mountain Range, the National Park has an area of 34,800 acres, 9 eruptive openings and it stands at 1,916 meters (6,286 ft) above sea level. The evidence of the activity in the Rincon de la Vieja can be easily seen with fumaroles and hot springs at its slope.

The story behind the name “Rincon de la Vieja”

If you are wondering what the name means and where it comes from: Rincon de la Vieja means “Hag’s Hideout” (others use the more literal translation “old lady’s corner”), and it comes from an old urban tale that tells the story of Princess Curabanda who fell in love with Mixcoac who was the leader of a neighbor enemy tribe. When Curabanda’s father found out about the love affair he captured Mixcoac and threw him into the volcano’s crater; Curabanda saddened, left her tribe to go live near the volcano and she gave birth to a son, but because she wanted the son to be with his father she threw him into the crater too. Curubanda lived the rest of her life close to the volcano and she became a powerful healer. People that visited her to find remedy to their illnesses named the place Rincon de la Vieja.

Visiting the Rincon de la Vieja National Park

This volcano is not as visited as the ones in the Central Mountain Range, this of course is because of its location, however, it is a wonderful place to visit, the abundance of flora and fauna and diversity of habitats are the main attractions of this National Park, the fauna ranges from mammals such as pumas, jaguars, monkeys, coatis and tapirs, to a colorful variety of birds, snakes and bats. Visitors begin their journey at the Santa Maria ranger station and just a short walk up the trail you’ll find hot springs, waterfalls and bubbling pools of mud. For those more adventurous you can continue your tour through Las Pailas trail, which is a stretch of about 6KM (3.7miles) where you see many different sceneries, you have to cross a hanging bridge and you’ll reach an area of small waterfalls, you can continue your walk towards the fumaroles, one of the most impressive parts of the tour. If you are up for it, you can continue walking until you find La Cangreja waterfall, sort of an oasis in the dessert, this beautiful waterfall and its perfect swimming pool are ideal for a refreshing bath after a long walk under the Guanacaste sun.

Next time you are in Guanacaste take a day to visit the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, there are several nearby hotels which also offer great alternatives for adventure tourism.