Views from the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
The Arenal Volcano is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. It’s easy to see why – there’s a colossal volcano sticking up out of flat farmland. And it explodes, a lot. In fact I think it is considered the world’s most consistently active volcano.
The image of red hot lava pouring forth into the night sky is a staple of Arenal tourist promotion. And yet, you can only see this from one side of the volcano. The crater tantalisingly changes shape periodically to expose the lava flows to different directions.
Its first eruption in recorded history or memory was 1968. Until then, the locals thought it was just a big hill. In fact they called it ‘El Cerro’, the hill. Presumably they got an almighty shock when it suddenly erupted in their midst.
The scars from that first, most major, eruption are still very much in evidence in the immediate vicinity of the volcano. Black sand, lava fields and very patchy vegetation. This despite Arenal being basically in tropical lowlands where, if you threw a peach stone out of the window in the morning you’d be harvesting peaches by the afternoon.
The way things are set out at Arenal is that there is one main road which loops around the north side of the volcano. To the south is more or less national park, very little in the way of population.
At the moment, and for the last 18 months or so, the crater has been exposed to the south. There is just one hotel to the south of the crater, the Arenal Observatory Lodge.
To get that priceless view of red hot lava against the night sky, you really have to go to the Observatory Lodge. The hotels to the north of the volcano can’t wait for a big explosion to clear their view of the lava!
The Observatory Lodge is very close to the volcano as it was originally created as an observation point for the Smithsonian Institute. It feels somewhat like a scientific institute still – certainly the older rooms do. You don’t come here for luxury though it’s comfortable enough. Rooms are en suite and the service is friendly.
You do come here for the views at night. I should say the possible views at night since Arenal volcano is so often coated in cloud.
You also come to the Observatory Lodge to look for birds, it has an extraordinary list of species.
You might also come here because it is significantly higher than the town of La Fortuna and the other hotels in the Arenal area. Something like 600m higher. That makes all the difference in terms of temperature. While La Fortuna sweats, the Observatory Lodge enjoys cool evenings and night times.
This photos probably sums up the Observatory Lodge quite well. A couple sitting out birdwatching, the enormous volcano ahead, covered in cloud. The peeling paint on the decking (it’s due to be repainted right around now).
What the photo doesn’t capture is that the volcano is very, very active at the moment. This means that every hour or so, there was a very large explosion. Much like thunder, at times far louder than that. While I was here there was an explosion loud enough that even the local guides ducked.
Just after the explosion, you would see boulders cascading down the blackened slopes of the volcano. During the day they just look like large grey boulders. At night, you see that they are in fact glowing red.
It really is spectacular.
I should add that the Observatory Lodge is in fact several miles from the volcano so you are very safe. I should also add that you don’t necessarily have to stay here to enjoy the nighttime pyrotechnics.
You can pay a few dollars to come into the Observatory’s grounds. There are lots of self guided trails through the forests. You can then stay for dinner at the restaurant before heading back round to your hotel on the north side.
A word or two of warning and advice:
1) It’s really only worth going there if it’s likely to be a relatively clear night.
2) Go mid-afternoon to enjoy the grounds and surroundings. The lodge lies just beyond the Arenal National Park and other places you should visit when in the area.
3) The Observatory Lodge is 9km off the main, paved, road. That means 9km of dirt road. If you stay for dinner, you’ll be driving it in the dark. It’s not a problem per-se but you really do need to be cautious when driving on dirt roads. Doubly so after dark.
If you would like to know more about our Costa Rica holidays call us now on +44 (0)1273 676712.
The beautiful Soraypampa Lodge looking down at Mt Salkantay
The Lodges
There are four lodges built along the trek and it took over 10,000 mule journeys to complete them. The first lodge has 12 room and the others just 6.
Each one was designed by a local architect using local stone, wood and straw in the traditional adobe Inca style. Construction was supervised and approved by the National Insitute of Natural Resources.
Electicity is provided using state-of-the art gas generators. Water is from local sources and there are ‘filling stations’ at each lodge. Water from plastic bottles is charged at a premium and profits are donated to the community.
The company has also set up an eco-team to maintain the trail, clean up any litter and advise and assist with wildlife conservation.
I love the story of the Alerce Mountain Lodge. It’s just such a uniquely Chilean place and the story behind it is so improbable that it could only really be in South America.
The lodge itself stands in the middle of a vast expanse of Alerce, also known as the Andean birch, amongst the oldest trees on earth.
Puerto Montt is the nearest town, from where you drive 35km or so along the coast road before heading up into the thick forest along an almost unbelievably bumpy and rutted logging road.
You get a little breather near the top to stop and see ‘el Tata’ (the grand-daddy). At 3,800 years old, he’s assumed to be the oldest of the trees in the forest.
At the top you hop out, walk a ways through the forest on wooden walkways until you come to a small lake.
Assuming the weather’s OK (it rains a lot here) you step onto a floating platform which is pulled across to the far shore. Follow another path through the dense, ancient forest and you get to the Alerce Mountain Lodge.
The lodge has six rooms and three small cabins though in reality, it is hardly ever anywhere near full.
The place is comfortable but rustic. Pretty much everything is hewn from wood. The decking is carefully built around a 2,000 year old tree.
There’s an old British steam locomotive in the living room acting as a stove. Outside is a fairly Heath Robinson looking hot tub.
There’s no telly. No telephones. No internet.
There’s no noise. No light pollution. No sign of the outside world.
It is a profound place and quite unique.
And here’s how it came to be here:
Nelson is a large, imposing man in his 50s. He’s known all over Puerto Montt - put it this way, the local police salute him.
He owns several successful local businesses. The largest and best know is his rodeo venue – rodeo is a big deal in Chile. His son is one of the most accomplished rodeo riders in Chile. He also owns the Alerce Mountain Lodge.
Some years back, Nelson didn’t have so many fingers in so many pies. Instead, he concentrated on being head of a wealthy logging family and running the family logging business. Generations of his family had logged the lands around the southern end of the Chilean Lake District before him.
When the opportunity arose to buy a huge expanse of Alerce forest, Nelson seized it with both hands. Alerce wood grows at just 1mm a year so is incredibly hard and therefore valuable. Really valuable. $5,000 per cubic metre valuable.
Having completed the purchase, Nelson went into the forest to survey their purchase and plan the gradual clearance of the land.
Now this bit’s going to sound a bit too Disney to be believable. But every word of this is true.
As Nelson stood in the forest surrounded by trees two, three and four thousand years old, he had an epiphany. A Damascene conversion.
He found that he just wasn’t able to supervise the destruction of the forest. Instead, he knew he had to preserve it.
He brought the other members of the family to see the forest and, by consensus, they shut the logging business.
An old house they found buried deep in the forest near a lake was turned into a small hotel. And not a single tree has been harmed since.
The Alerce Mountain Lodge really is run not as a business but as a passion, as a means of letting other people experience this forest. It’s subsidised by Nelson in the hope that people take better care of all of our forests.
So we take our hats off to Nelson – he’s always wearing his Huaso hat as you’ll see here. This is him with Sarah from Pura Aventura in late 2009.
Nelson and Sarah at the Alerce Mountain Lodge
It isn’t easy to take great photos in the Alerce Forest. As I say, it rains a lot and even when it isn’t, forests are often hard to capture well.
However, you can see some absolutely first rate photos taken recently by a client, Caroline Fraser, on her holiday to the Alerce Forest.
If you are interested in visiting the lodge, we stay there on our small group Patagonia Adventure holiday or we can arrange a tailor made holiday to Chile.