Lava trail

3 photos · 2019

3 photographs tagged Lava trail, 2019.

Related: Arenal Volcano Costa Rica Guanacaste Volcano Hiking Alajuela Province
A hiker navigates through volcanic rock and regenerating vegetation below Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica.
Arenal Volcano rises 1,633 meters in Costa Rica's Alajuela Province, part of the Cordillera de Tilarán. The volcano lay dormant for centuries before erupting without warning in July 1968, burying nearby villages and killing dozens of residents. That eruption began an active period lasting until 2010, during which flows of andesitic lava built up the loose rock fields that now cover much of its base. Arenal Volcano National Park, established in 1991, protects the cone and surrounding forest, and trails through the old lava fields let hikers walk across terrain formed within the last half-century.

Climbing Through Lava Rock on Arenal’s 1968 Trail

A hiking trail crosses dark volcanic rock and regenerating vegetation with Arenal Volcano rising in the background near La Fortuna, Costa Rica.
Arenal Volcano last erupted in 1968, sending a pyroclastic flow and lava across its western and southern flanks that buried several farms and killed dozens of people. The eruption ended a dormancy of roughly 400 years and triggered intermittent activity that continued until 2010. The rock fields near La Fortuna consist of andesitic lava deposited during that eruptive period, now colonized by secondary forest growth. At 1,657 meters, Arenal remains Costa Rica's most studied volcano and anchors Arenal Volcano National Park, established in 1991.

Path Across Arenal’s Lava Rock Toward the Volcano

A hiking trail crosses the 1968 lava field near Arenal Volcano in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, with vegetation reclaiming volcanic rock.
Arenal Volcano erupted continuously from 1968 to 2010, sending lava flows down its western and southern flanks that reshaped the landscape near La Fortuna. The 1968 eruption began on July 29 after centuries of dormancy, killing more than 80 people and burying the villages of Tabacón, Pueblo Nuevo, and San Luis. Arenal Volcano National Park, established in 1991, now protects the cooled lava fields, and trails here cross the hardened rock left by that eruption. The volcano's symmetrical cone rises to about 1,670 meters and remains one of the most studied volcanic sites in Central America.

Clouds Over Arenal Volcano Along the 1968 Lava Trail

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