Please accept a warm Costa Rican greeting from all the staff at the Volcán Turrialba Lodge. Thank you for taking a few moments of your valuable time to read about our hotel and the services we offer.
Our property lies in the valley between Irazú and Turrialba Volcanoes. The lodge itself nesties in the foothills of Turrialba, only 5 kilometers from the crater of this dormant giant. The whole area is one of great natural beauty-pristine and virtually unexplored. Ranging from 4500 to 10000 feet above sea level, it encompasses several life zones including tropical rainforest, cloud forest and the páramo.
Simple, homey comforts and personalized service at Volcán Turrialba Lodge make it a perfect base for exploring the mountain. With only twenty two rooms, each with private bath and fire stove, it's almost like having your own mountain retreat.
There is so much to do around our lodge that guests should plan to stay for several days. We offer a number of different nature walks to observe the diverse native flora and fauna, excursions to the thermal pools and fumaroles of nearby Irazú Volcano, horseback riding on Turrialba's old lava flows, mountain biking.
Of particular interest is our "Volcán Turrialba Tour", a unique opportunity to descend to the floor of a major volcanic crater. Turrialba is the only volcano in Costa Rica where such a descent is possible. For those wishing an even more challenging outing we can arrange special tours. For example, we offer a 10 hour hike tour from Volcán Turrialba to nearby Guápiles. The trail crosses Braulio Carrillo National Park, a place of unsurpassed beauty.
All of our tours are conducted by experienced local tour guides who are knowledgeable about the beauties and secrets of the area. For our guests' comfort and convenience, we provide complimentary, top quality equipment such as rubber ponchos, boots, binoculars, first aid kit, water bottles and more.
After a day outdoors, our kitchen will serve up wholesome, Costa Rica style meals cooked over a wood fire. If your tastes run to more international fare, our cook will gladly accommodate you. Before or after dinner, relax in our cozy bar which serves top quality liquors. Guests enjoy browsing through our collection of Costa Rica literature or playing one of the table games that we keep on hand for the enjoyment of our guests.
Although it is only 60 kilometers from San José, Volcán Turrialba Lodge is a defintely a secluded hideaway. Our access road is restricted to 4 wheel drive vehicles and we have kept it that way intentionally. The route is clearly posted for those coming on their own. We also offer transfer services, with a capacity of up to 15 passengers, from San José, Turrialba, Cartago, Guápiles, Siquirres an major nearby towns.
Tours Description
La Zocola Tour: This tour is specially recommended for bird watchers. This is the reason why it takes place in the early hours of the morning or in the afternoon. This journey will allow the visitor to contemplate extraordinary sunsets and sunrises in a "transition forest" from the Tropical Rain Forest. La Zocola was given its name as cattle raising began to dominate the area, this hill remained as a spot of primary forest in the region. Now a days, approximately 78 different rare bird species can be easily observed (among them the famous quetzal).
The tourist will enter the forest in order to observe and study the birds in their natural habitat, only a half hour walking distance from the Lodge. The complete tour will take approximately 3 hours, which can be easily extended (to the volcanic veins) depending on the number of different species being observed at that time.
Due to the susceptibility of some people to the severe weather conditions, we recommend to bring along protective lip palm and sunblock. Hiking shoes, warm clothing as well as gloves, coat, hat and others are also suggested. A good camera is something you must not forget in order to take along all the beautiful memories from this trip.
El Martillo Tour (Old lava flows): Traveling through the Tropical Cloud Forest, we will see Volcán Turrialba´s former lava rivers, small and new water nascent today, that run down hill, huge magma rocks. The horse ride will follow the tropical path called ¨Camino de Gobierno¨, that was used by our ancestors to travel from the Central Valley to Guápiles. Besides the natural beauty, which is the forest itself, the tourists will be able to glance at different local crops of the region, as well as all the pastures used for raising cattle. The duration of this tour will be approximately of three hours.
Volcán Turrialba Tour: The Volcán Turrialba will allow you to explore the interior of it's crater in a journey that will take approximately one hour and a half, horse back riding in a forest typical of the Paramo (tiny vegetation). You will ascend to the peak of the volcano, where you will have the opportunity to appreciate one of the best panoramic views in this country at 3328 meters above sea level.
A short list of some of the visible sites from this place includes Irazú, Barva and Poás Volcanoes, the Atlantic Cost and all of its plains, Central Valley (Valle Central) and the highest mountain chain in the country: Talamanca, located south of the Turrialba Volcano.
This tour will take approximately 5 hours. Given the nature of this journey, which starts at 2800 meters above sea level, we recommend this tour be taken by people in good physical shape, age being no consideration, of course. Volcán Turrialba is the only one in Costa Rica that enables you to horse back ride or walk in its crater, being this a unique and once in a lifetime experience that we are sure will be of your complete satisfaction.
Volcanic veins: This tour is carried out in our property, across greenfields and paths in the cloudy tropical forest. This tour is directed by a guide or a cowboy from the area, who's a great expert of the beauties and secrets of the zone. Besides the typical flora of these elevations, some fauna and several bird species can be observed such as: "Martillas", Squirrels, Hoggish Porcupine, Armadillos, Coyotes, "Manigordos", Water's Otter, "Quetzales", Hummingbirds, Toucans, "Gavilanes Tijerrilla", "Colirosa" and Bell Bird among others. This tour can be made only by walking, the groups can't be bigger than 8 persons and the time estimated for the tour is 2 hours, it is capable for all ages.
Tour to "Las Pilas": This tour can be made only by walking, and the estimated time for the tour is 3 hours. Begins on the old "Camino de Gobierno"(government road) or "picada to Guapiles", that passes next to the hotel " Ruta de los Conquistadores" (the conquerors' route), the tour walks about 1 kilometer in this path following to a place known as "El Martillo' (the hammer);name that receives for its similar form to this tool.
This area possesses an impressive vegetation as well as wild life, typical of the Cloud Tropical Forest and Rain Tropical Forest. The first of the old lava rivers of theTurrialba Volcano is skirted, leading to the National Park "Braulio Carrillo", then, following the nascent of the "Quebrada Gata" river, up to the highest ground of the national park, then, descending through the walls of the rock, where several nascent reach the piles or natural puddles, inside the old rivers of lava.
