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 The
slopes north of Cartago rise gradually up the flanks
of Volcán Irazú. The views from on high
are stupendous. Every corner reveals another picture-perfect
landscape. You'll swear they were painted for a Hollywood
set. The slopes are festooned with tidy little farming
villages with brightly painted houses of orange, yellow,
green, and light blue. Dairy farming is an important
industry, and you'll pass by several communities known
for their cheese. The fertile fields around Cot look
like great salad bowls--carrots, onions, potatoes, and
greens are grown intensively.
Volcán
Irazú, about 21 km northeast of Cartago, tops
out at 3,432 meters. Its name comes from two tribal
words: ara (point) and tzu (thunder). The volcano
has been ephemerally active, most famously on 13 March
1963, the day that U.S. President John F. Kennedy
landed in Costa Rica on an official visit: Irazú
broke a 20-year silence and began disgorging great
columns of smoke and ash. The eruption lasted two
years. At one point, ash-filled vapor blasted up into
overhanging clouds and triggered a storm that rained
mud up to five inches thick over a widespread area.
No further activity was recorded until December 1994,
when Irazú unexpectedly hiccuped gas, ash,
and breccia. It still rumbles occasionally.
The
windswept 100-meter-deep Diego de la Haya crater contains
a sometimes-pea-green, sometimes-rust-red, mineral-tinted
lake. Fumaroles are occasionally active. A larger
crater is 300 meters deep. Two separate trails lead
from the parking lot to the craters. Follow those
signed with blue-and-white symbols (don't follow other
trails made by irresponsible folks whose feet destroy
the fragile ecosystems). The crater rims are dangerously
unstable. Keep your distance.
A
sense of bleak desolation pervades the summit, like
the surface of the moon. It is often foggy. Even on
a sunny day expect a cold, dry, biting wind. Dress
warmly. The average temperature is a chilly 7.3°
C (45° F). Little vegetation lives at the summit,
though stunted dwarf oaks, ferns, lichens, and other
species are making a comeback. Best time to visit
is March or April, the two driest months.
Don't
be put off if the volcano is shrouded in fog. Often
the clouds lie below the summit of the mountain--there's
no way of telling until you drive up there--and you
emerge into brilliant sunshine. On a clear day you
can see both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The
earlier in the morning you arrive, the better your
chances of getting clear weather.
The
ranger booth (no telephone), two km below the summit,
is open 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m., but you can visit at any
time. A mobile soda serves food and drinks on weekends,
and the site has toilets and picnic benches beside
the crater, but no camping or other facilities. Entrance:
$6.
The
Prusian Forestry Reserve (Reserva Forestal Prusia),
tel. 551-9398, within the park, on the southwest flank
of Irazú, five km north of Potrero Cerrado,
is a reforestation project with a recreation area--Ricardo
Jiménez Oreamuno--which features hiking trails
and camping and picnic sites set amid pines. There's
a "mushroom forest" here, too.
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