How to visit Irazu Volcano National Park, Costa Rica?

Sitting comfortably along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Costa Rica is home to about 200 volcanic formations. Many of them date back to millions of years ago, while some of them are active even to this day. Irazu volcano is one such active volcano that last erupted in 1993. An elevation of 11,260 feet/ 3,432 meters earns Irazu the crown of the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. In this article, we are going to share everything you need to know about how to visit the Craters Sector of Irazu Volcano National Park.

For planning a visit to the trails sector of the park, you can read our post on Sector Prusia.

You can watch our Irazu volcano vlog towards the end of this post.

How to reach Irazu volcano?

Irazu volcano lies in one of our favorite provinces of Costa Rica, Cartago.

You can reach the National Park in less than 2 hours if you are driving down from the Central Valley. The distances from the major cities of Central Valley and from Cartago are as follows:

• San Jose: 59 km
• Heredia: 59 km
• Alajuela: 72 km
• Cartago: 28 km

Driving down is the most fun way of reaching Irazu as you get to enjoy the views at your own pace. You can also make side trips to explore other corners of Cartago, or extend your trip to visit some other places on your way back, like San Gerardo de Dota.

The road to the volcano passes through the beautiful green fields along the mountain slopes. Some times sun shines, some times white clouds wash your eye level horizon. The first time we visited Irazu, we were surprised that the drive up to an elevation of 11,000+ feet was such a breezy one!

How to buy ticket for Irazu?

You have to buy the tickets at the entrance of Irazu Volcano National Park as you drive through. Now you also have the option of buying the entrance tickets directly online from the SINAC website.

Entry fees:

• For foreign nationals: 15 USD
• For citizens and residents: 1000 CRC (~1.75 USD)

Other important information

• Hours: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
• Parking: Available
• Restrooms: Available
• Food: Snacks station and picnic tables available

What is the best time to visit Irazu volcano?

This is the trickiest part of planning a visit to Irazu Volcano National Park.

When you visit Irazu volcano, you would want to have clear sunny weather. Else you will not get a clear sighting on the blue colored volcano crater lake. This is why timing your visit right is so important.

Costa Rica weather

Costa Rica enjoys a long rainy season. It starts in late April/ early May and lasts for as long as November/ December. You would think that you just need to avoid the rainy season. Nope! It is a little more complicated than that. In Costa Rica, even during the rainy season, you can have a bright sunny morning before the sky starts pouring around midday. Likewise, it can rain even on a dry season day. Also, Costa Rica has several micro weathers. That means, at a given time, even if it rains heavily at San Jose, it can be completely dry at Irazu. And of course, vice-versa.

Check for weather conditions on the day of your visit

So you really need to keep an eye on the weather conditions, the day you plan to visit Irazu, even if it is a preplanned trip. The general recommendations are choose a sunnier day and visit early in the morning. Even then, your experience might end up being completely different than expected.

We went to Irazu three times, during different months, all of them on weekends. This is how our experience turned out each time:

May – We went early in the morning. There was a long queue of cars waiting for their turns to enter through the main gate. It was raining hard, with limited visibility. We returned even before we entered. Took an U-turn and headed to Orosi valley instead.

July – We visited in the late afternoon. There was no waiting time at the entrance. The weather was chilly with extremely strong winds. There were thin clouds floating over some of the craters. But the principal crater with the blue lake was shining bright under the bright rays of the sun.

January – This time also, we visited late in the afternoon. No waiting time. Overall sunny weather, with no clouds or no chilly winds. The temperature was pleasant.

We liked our July sighting the best.

What to wear for your trip to Irazu?

Wear clothes that you are comfortable in. But do not forget these:

• Wear good walking shoes.
• Carry a raincoat as it can rain anytime anywhere in Costa Rica.
• Most importantly, remember to carry a light jacket. In almost no time, you will reach an altitude of over 11,000 feet when you visit Irazu volcano. It can get quite chilly.

When we visited Irazu in July, we made the mistake of not carrying a light jacket. The wind was so harsh and chilly that our ears popped continuously. We were shivering from the chill. Since we did not have any jacket, we tried to make do with our rain jackets! Not a good idea!

What to see inside the Irazu Volcano National Park?

From the parking area, you need to walk along the paved trail towards the Principal Crater of Irazu volcano. Before you start, you can check out the map laid out on a board.

Diego de la Haya crater

On the way, you will first come across an empty crater on your right. It is called Diego de la Haya, named after the person who first documented a volcanic eruption at Irazu in 1723. This crater does not contain any lake or vegetation. It is just a plain dark brown/black volcanic crater. Yet, it was fascinating to watch the thin clouds brush against the crater surface.

Principal crater

On the left, there is a wide stretch of plain terrain that extends till the main crater, and further along. Continue to walk down the paved trail for a few minutes to arrive at the main crater, written as Crater Principal on the sign board. This is the star attraction of your Irazu volcano visit. The crater is 300 meters deep and its diameter measures 1,050 meters. As you look over the railing, you will see the blue lake gleaming from the crater below.

Take photos all you want. Then disconnect and gaze quietly at the crater and enjoy the sun rays and the clouds taking turns to dance over the blue beauty.

You can also walk further along the paved trail and get different perspectives of the crater view. However, under any circumstances, please do not cross over the railing for different photo ops. It is NOT cool to violate clearly written instructions for the sake of your Insta-worthy photos.

Is it worth visiting the Irazu Volcano National Park?

A scenic drive through the countryside, an active volcano summit and a pretty blue lake in the volcano crater – it is absolutely worth visiting the Irazu Volcano National Park. In fact, we highly recommend including Irazu Volcano National Park on your Costa Rica itinerary when you are visiting the country for the first time.

Irazu volcano video

Check out this short video we made when we visited Irazu Volcano National Park in July 2019.

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