Arenal

Lake Arenal

Lake Arenal is the largest lake in Costa Rica. It sits at the base of the Arenal Volcano in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. On the Continental Divide between the Tilerán and Guanacaste mountain ranges, its altitude is 2,200 ft. We enjoyed an afternoon of boating on the lake observing the many native birds.

Arenal Volcano is a andesitic stratovolcano rising 5,437 feet above the surrounding landscape. Its slopes descend into lush rainforests featuring waterfalls, lakes, and diverse wildlife. Although it was once one of Costa Rica’s most active volcanoes, Arenal’s eruptions have slowed in recent years.

We were lucky to get a view for a short time.

Los Chiles

While at Arenal, we went to Los Chiles for a boat tour down the Rio Frio, to the Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge. This was a wonderful trip. This area is considered to be one of the richest in biological diversity in Costa Rica. Here you can find a great variety of resident and migratory birds plus three different species of monkeys, also iguanas, sloths, turtles and caymans. Along the river you can see many birds, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, white-faced monkeys, also the three-toed sloth and some reptiles like caimans, Jesus Christ lizard and turtles.