Cartago Surroundings - Irazu Volcano National Park Parque Nacional Volcán Irazú

The Irazú Volcano is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica at 3,342m/10,962ft. Eruptions have been recorded since 1723, and it is because of these eruptions (along with other volcano eruptions) that the soil of the Central Valley is exceptionally fertile.

Established in 1955, this national park protects 2,309ha/5,703ac of land in a circular shape around the base of the volcano.

Bare landscape and craters are found at the summit, creating a surreal, lunar-like atmosphere.

Irazú's Principal Crater is 1,050m/3,444ft in diameter and 300m/984ft deep. The Diego de la Haya Crater, named for the Costa Rican governor who reported the 1723 eruptions, is 690m/2,263ft in diameter and 100m/328ft deep and contains a small lime-green lake that sometimes appears red. Irazú's present activity involves holes (fumaroles) emitting smoke and gasses.

Marked trails lead to these craters and two other smaller ones, one of which also contains a lake. A pyroclastic cone can also be seen, which has been formed from fragmented volcanic rock. Plants are scarcely beginning to colonize the summit, from which vistas of the Pacific and Caribbean can be seen on clear days.

Some high altitude birds can be spotted, such as the volcano junco, mountain robins and owls. Rabbits, grey foxes, armadillos, porcupines, and coyotes have also been spotted. Thicker cloud forest vegetation is found below the summit.

There are oak and madaroño trees that are covered with epiphytic plants and the vegetation becomes more lush the lower the altitude. Irazú's last major eruption occurred in 1963, on the same day that U.S. President Kennedy arrived in Costa Rica.

Most of the Central Valley including Cartago and San José were covered in volcanic ash, and the agricultural lands northeast of the volcano were deemed temporarily uninhabitable due to rocks and boulders thrown from the crater. The Irazú Volcano National Park is one of the top attractions in Costa Rica.