Tenorio Volcano and Río Celeste

One of the most interesting and seldom visited areas in Costa Rica is Tenorio Volcano National Park. The main attraction in the park is Río Celeste, which during the end of the dry season, takes on a beautiful aqua-blue color. Although the color looks unreal, it is in fact natural and results from the combination of sediments from two different rivers mixing together.

One of the reasons that the park is not at the top of the tourist radar is that it is a little off of the beaten path. It is located in the northern part of the country with the western half of the park located in Guanacaste Province while the eastern half is located in Alajuela Province. It is northwest of the Arenal and Monteverde areas and just outside of the small community of Bijagua de Upala.

We picked Easter week (semana santa) for our trip which probably was not the best choice. What should have been a 3.5 - 4 hour drive took about eight hours! Heavy traffic much of the way but returning on Easter Sunday took half that.

We stayed at Celeste Mountain Lodge which was outstanding in every respect. It had a great restaurant with views of the grounds and the pulley-operated fruit feeder. Really no need to post many pics of the rooms and grounds. Just click on the link above.

The rooms were large with shades that you could close to block out the light or open for a wide-view of the grounds and the volcano. Lots of nice ornamental touches in the room as well. Very comfortable.

The weather was ugly on our first full day so we stayed mostly at the bar with plate-glass windows opening on to the grounds. We had at least 25 bird species without getting up.

Black-cowled Oriole

Black-cheeked Woodpecker

Violet-headed Hummingbird

Green Honeycreeper

There are trails and a couple of small ponds on the manicured grounds right outside the lodge with plenty of birds. The lodge also has an excellent 2.5 mile trail in primary forest that cuts into the edge of the national park.

On our second full day in the area, we visited the national park and Río Celeste. Again, because it was Easter weekend, the park was fairly crowed. There are four main stops along the trail into the park which takes 3-4 hours round trip depending on how long and where you stop.

The first main stop is the waterfall with a steep 250 steps down to the viewing area and, of course, 250 to climb out.

After struggling up the steps to rejoin the main trail, after maybe 500 meters you come to the mirador and then el pozo azul (the blue pond). The water is aqua blue.

Continuing down the trail the smell of sulphur becomes intense as you reach los "borbollones" - the bubbling up of the thermal water heated by the volcano.

The trail ends at los teñideros, where the sediment from the two rivers mixes together to form the bright blue color that continues on to the waterfall and below.

After returning to the lodge from the park, we took a two hour guided night hike. Lots of creepy and crawly things out there include some snakes and some very bright frogs.

One of the most exciting moments of the trip was the very last night when we encountered an adult tapir (danta) walking slowly across the road in front of the car. We were so surprised there was no hope of a photo.