Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Poás offers the wonderful opportunity to watch the bubbling, steaming cauldron belch
sulfurous mud and water hundreds of meters into the air. There are two other craters, as
well, one of which contains a sapphire-blue lake ringed by high-altitude forest.
The main crater at Poás continues to be active to varying degrees. In fact, the park was
briefly closed in May 1989 after a minor eruption sent volcanic ash spouting more than
1km into the air, and lesser activity closed the park intermittently in 1995. In recent years,
Poás has posed no imminent threat, though scientists still monitor it closely.
Activities
From the visitors center there is a paved, wheelchair-accessible 600m path that leads to a
crater lookout. Because of the toxic sulfuric-acid fumes that are emitted from the cauldron,
visitors are prohibited from descending into the crater.
Upon leaving the lookout, you can simply retrace your steps to the parking lot, or con-
tinue touring the park on a series of trails that collectively make a 3.6km loop back to the
main path. For the longer loop, head east from the crater lookout onto
Sendero Botos
, a
1.4km, 30-minute trail that takes you through dwarf cloud forest, which is the product of
acidic air and freezing temperatures. Here you can wander about looking at bromeliads,
lichens and mosses clinging to the curiously shaped and twisted trees growing in the vol-
canic soil. Birds abound, especially the magnificent fiery-throated hummingbird, a high-
altitude specialty of Costa Rica. The trail ends at
Laguna Botos
, a peculiar cold-water
lake that has filled in one of the extinct craters.
From here, continue south on
Sendero Canto de Aves
, a 1.8km, 45-minute trail through
taller forest, which gets significantly less traffic than the other parts of the park and is ideal
for bird-watching. Species to look for include the sooty robin, black guan, screech owl and
even the odd quetzal (especially from February to April). Although mammals are infre-
quently sighted in the park, coyotes and the endemic montane squirrel are present.
Return to the main path via the 400m, 10-minute
Sendero Escalonia
, which will drop
you at the restrooms just north of the visitors center.
Sleeping & Eating
There is no camping or other accommodations inside the park itself.
