Rincon de la Vieja, an active volcano with a heat-sterilized top, looms over the northwestern city of Liberia. Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja protects the twin-peaked massif and the surrounding moist forests. The centerpieces of the park are the Rincon de la Vieja (1895m/6215ft) and Santa Maria (1916m/6323ft) peaks, which are all really part of the Rincon de La Vieja Volcano, which also includes nine separate craters which are linked together to form a massif — a “compact portion of mountain range containing one or more summits.“ The volcano is one of five in the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range. The volcano is considered active, although there hasn’t been a major eruption since 1983. The park offers marvelous attractions to the visitors with spectacular natural sites and great trails for hiking within the park:
Las Pailas Trail:
Starts at the main ranger station and you can spend an hour or two on the most accessible trail in the park that loops for 3 kms through dense forests and rocky canyons. The main attraction of the trail is the observation of volcanic indicators: a fumarolic lagoon, fumaroles, mud and water pots with temperatures ranging from 78 ° C to 106 ° C that constantly emit sulfurous steam, some hidden deep in the forest. You will also pass through forested areas and open areas, where you can see the transition from the dry forest to the humid forest. In addition, here you get to the path that leads to the Santa María Sector and its thermal waters for a 7 km linear route. When walking around Las Pailas and any of the geothermic sites — be careful where you step. While most of the places are marked for safety, you still need to be careful you don’t step on a thin piece of crust where your foot could plunge through and get scalded. Most everything is clearly marked — just be mindful.
Required equipment: Closed shoes and water. Jacket during the rainy season.
Path to La Cangreja and Escondida Falls:
For a longer hiking, set your sights on the park’s two spectacular waterfalls: Catarata Escondida or Catarata la Cangreja. These trails are open from 8:00 am to 12:00 in the dry season (December-April) and during the rainy season (May-November) access may be regulated.
La Cangreja waterfall trail is a four-hour, 5.1km (each direction) hike that leads where falls drop 50m from a cliff into a small swimmable lagoon. The trail winds through forest past massive strangler figs, then to open savanna spiked with terrestrial bromeliads (pineapple like plants) on the volcano’s flanks, where views stretch to the Pacific Ocean. You will pass a swimming hole and then a series of waterfalls, ending in the largest called La Cangreja. Dissolved copper salts give the falls a deep blue color.
Escondida (Hidden) Waterfall trail branches off from the Cangreja trail. It is 4.3km in each direction. This trail is less trafficked, but there is no swimming at the waterfall either. the latter section of the trail is of high difficulty. Due to the steep climb, this hike usually takes around 5 hours.
Required equipment: Closed shoes, water. Jacket During the rainy season.
Oropendola Waterfall:
It is just 10 minutes from the main parking area, 1km (each direction). It is 25 mts high and spills into the turquoise pool of the Rio Blanco below.
The Active Crater Trail (Currently the path to the crater is temporally closed due to volcanic activity): This trail ends at the summit, where you can watch the steaming lower crater. It is 8 km (16 km in total round trip). It is the most difficult route in the sector, due to the ascent, which is about 1,000 meters of altitude from the base of the trail to the top, the route has an average duration of between 6 and 8 hours round trip. The landscape is impressive in the absence of cloudiness with the possibility of observing the majestic living circle Rincon de la Vieja, which has the name of this volcanic massif composed of 9 craters. The climatic and vulcanological conditions can determine its access. For several years the cycle has had a series of phreatic eruptions and emanation of gases, with a variable activity so it remains closed until the activity does not decrease and it is considered safe to access this attraction.
Equipment needed throughout the year: Closed shoes, water, jacket, box lunch and raincoat.
Factors to be considered: Heavy rain, thunderstorms, high cloudiness, gusts of wind greater than 60-80 km/h (November to February), steep slopes and rugged terrain.
In ideal weather conditions, the ascent should be between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. The best time to climb is usually in March and April, because during these months the wind decreases and there is less chance of having cloudiness and rain at the top.
Santa Maria Sector
For many years, a part of this sector (southern margin) constituted a cattle farm until 1973,when it was included as part of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park. It is a place of great biological interest, of high scenic beauty, composed of volcanic manifestations and natural and cultural elements. It contains an important extension of primary forest. This Sector is very important for the city of Liberia, where over 50% of water supplied to the city comes from Santa Maria since the beginning of the 20th century. There is a small display about traditional cattle ranching (not always open) and good hiking trails.
The Santa María house: It is one of the few houses that shows the livestock culture of Guanacaste. The life of this old adobe house revolved around dual purpose cattle activities (meat and milk), coffee crops and sugarcane; for some time to the sawmill of wood. It was restored in March 1997.
Colibrí Trail: It is a short trail of 500 meters passes through an old sugar mill and connects with the main path that goes to the hot springs.
Enchanted Forest Waterfall: It is a small but beautiful waterfall of cold fresh water, a beautiful place to sit and listen to the sounds of nature and appreciate the beauty of this forest.
Pailas de Agua Fría (Water Holes): Located at the foot of the Humid Forest, surrounded by Heliconia plants and with the aspect of a cemetery of trees. This is another of the volcanic manifestations present in the Rincon de la Vieja. The activity is quite similar to the one that occurs in clay pots, since it is also due to the disintegration of rocky material that, when joined with water and heat sources, is expelled to the surface by fractures in the earth; The only difference is that a component; that cools the water, called carbon dioxide is found in these mud pots. The water has a light brown color and shows the mineral content. Total distance: 1 km (2 km round trip)
Hot springs: 2.8km west of Santa Maria ranger station and walking through the ‘enchanted forest’, a cloud forest covered in guaria morada orchids (Costa Rica’s national flower) to reach Los Azufrales (sulfurous hot springs ) which are believed to have restorative or healing properties. At 42C or 107.6F, they are also very hot, so don’t spend too much time in them, and afterwards take a dip in the cold-water stream nearby to drop your body temperature back down to normal. There are two pools where you can enjoy the hot springs.