La Fortuna, Costa Rica
La Fortuna: A place that has it all. By Grettel Prendas on the SJO Post, Sep 04-10, 2009.
The rapid growth of infrastructure and services started on the new century, making this place a prime location for visitors.
La Fortuna de San Carlos, in the Northern area of the country, is one of the most developed tourist areas. The spectacle offered by the Arenal Volcano with its samples of hot lava rolling along its well defined cone, as well as its popular hot springs, have attracted thousands of visitors and with them a range of services and tourism infrastructure.
Of the total of foreign visitors that Costa Rica receives each year, 30% include La Fortuna on their journey, making it an almost mandatory stop in their itinerary.
And actually this destination has it all, from adventure to relaxation, contact with nature, culture and a few hours from there some of the country’s best beaches. According to businessman Federico Chacon, from El Tacotal hotel, this is the destination with the greatest diversity of tours in just one hour.
You can count at least 36 of them offered by tour operators, a sample that includes horseback riding, canopy, canyoneering, windsurfing, rafting, bungee jumping, ATV or bicycle tours, walking tours, hanging bridges, aerial tram and more. In addition, the volcano on its own, is a magnet for visitors as well as the hot springs, and to all these you can add: waterfalls, trips to the Rio Frio in Cano Negro to observe animals and waterfowls; a visit to Rio Celeste, named by the color of the water that seems like a piece of heaven, the Venado Caverns, and very close by, the Guatusos or Malekus Indian Reservation.
But despite its natural wonders, La Fortuna was not always the sought-after destination that it is today. Twenty years ago, its infrastructure was poor and strictly rural, the accommodations were far from the five and four stars hotels that can be found today, but were rather characterized as rustic shelters, cabin style.
Its main activity was agricultural production, and tourism was far from being the main economic engine of the area as it is nowadays.
The prosperity of this place could be attributed to the opening of the Tabacon Hotel, the first luxury hotel in the area which set a new concept, not only in infrastructure but also in the type of tourist visiting it. This hotel took advantage of the beauty of the area to establish itself as a natural spa with an active volcano just a few kilometers away.
“Many of the hotels were born from the overbooking at Tabacon and adopted the same model of cabins. At that time it was Tabacon and the other hotels, and they fought the niche of being more accessible in price,” Chacon said.
However, since 2003, investment began to change, and hotels and services bet on higher quality. That was how the spas with thermal waters were no longer exclusive of Tabacon and started to offer a wide range of options to visitors.
Currently, Kioro, Corin Royal, Nayara, Magic Mountain, Mountain Paradise, and the Springs hotels, include hot springs within their services, as well as Baldi, Los Lagos…
The market for weddings and events is also being captured by these hosting sites. Magic Mountain Hotel, for example, opened the first conference center in the area, betting on an exclusive service and a Greek-style spa.
Edwin Padilla, manager and owner of this hotel, said that Magic Mountain has set a new standard in La Fortuna, for its building is one of the first ones in the shape of a tower, although this doesn’t mean that it does not have green spaces and spacious grounds too.
Traditional hotels also started to compete to attract customers, diversifying supply and improving quality and prices. This is the case of the Tacotal hotel. “We want the tourist to pay what is fair, to have the best view of the volcano and the warmth of the Costa Ricans, but we also want to innovate with more services and therefore we will also offer hot springs very soon,” said hotel owner Federico Chacon.
But not only have the hotels diversified, also the attractions. Until a few years ago to go to La Fortuna was synonymous of volcano and hot springs; today there are more and more tour operators and adventure projects in the area. One example is “Arenal Mundo Aventura” which offers everything from horseback riding, butterfly garden and a performance of Indian dances of the region, to canopy and repelling o a waterfall that will make the most adventurous live pure adrenaline.
One of its owners, Luigi Anchia, said that they are receiving groups of at least 6000 visitors every month. Similarly, Christine Larson, of “Desfios Tours” (Challenge Tours), said the visitor looks for La Fortuna because he wants adventure, and this is what we are trying to give a response to; with new options such as rafting, which was not previously done in the zone, but is now offered in both the Rio Balsa and the Rio Toro, very close to the area.
The challenge for many of the tour operators is to make of La Fortuna a classic ecotourism destination worldwide and position with this image within the preferences of foreign tourists. “We are more than a volcano and that’s what we want the tourist to take back in his mind,” Chacon said.
A destination that has it all
La Fortuna is a district of the canton of San Carlos, which in turn belongs to the province of Alajuela. This canton is located to the north of the country and borders the San Juan River, natural border with Nicaragua.
Hotel offer: 102 companies from 1 to 125 rooms.
Average Occupancy: 70%
Tours offered: 36
Product: Ecotourism, nature and adventure
Major attraction: Arenal Volcano
A walking giant
Arenal Volcano was a stratovolcano of nearly perfect conical shape before 1968, built by alternating layers of volcanic ash and angular lapilli, lava flows and deposits of hot clouds and ash.
After 500 years, Arenal left its dormant condition and awakened in July 1968 to one of the most regrettable chapters in the history of Costa Rica, regarding natural calamities. The formation of at least 4 side craters produced a series of direct explosions that destroyed km of virgin forest and a coupe of dairy and agricultural communities that were located in the catchments area of the activity. About 90 people were killed and material losses were incalculable.
This activity has continued since then and switches in many ways. Movement periods of lava flows contrasted with periods of charged gas, vapor and ash eruptions. Some of these methods cause pyroclastic flows which are perhaps the most dangerous of all. These are ardient flows descending from the summit at high speeds, following the topographic depressions to destroy everything in their path. The package of coarse and fine material mixed with gases and vapors at high temperature has already claimed the lives of curious visitors.
Arenal Volcano is undoubtedly one of the largest tourist points that has been kept for the past 25 years, which has led to rapid growth, high capital investment and massive visitation. The uniquely beautiful volcanic phenomenon is an open school to learn and be surprised; however, necessary safety measures should be taken.
Currently the volcano offers a wide variety of eruptive modalities that let you observe from different sides, different environments. In a routine day you can see the descent of a lava flow, the bearing of material from the top, gas and ash explosions up to the spectacular incandescent explosions full of bombs and fragments in ballistic trajectories.
Source: OVSICORI