San Carlos, Costa Rica
Encyclopedia
San Carlos Canton
San Carlos is the name of the 10th canton in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of , making it the largest canton in the country. It has a population of 137,499 , ranking it fifth...
, in the province of Alajuela
Alajuela Province
Alajuela is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north, and clockwise the provinces Heredia, San José, Puntarenas and Guanacaste...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
.
La Fortuna has the airport which is nearest to the Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano
Arenal Volcano, in Spanish , is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around 90 km northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna....
, though many visitors also arrive via automobile, to the resorts and hotels in La Fortuna, Castillo, Palma, Monteverde
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica is a small town in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Located in the Cordillera de Tilarán, roughly a four hour drive from the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Monteverde is considered a major ecotourism destination in Costa Rica...
, or Tilaran
Tilarán
Tilarán is a small town in the Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. It is the seat of the Tilarán Canton located in the hills overlooking the west shore of Lake Arenal...
. Arenal is often cited by scientists as being in the top ten or top 20 of the world's most active volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es. La Fortuna is less than 10 km from the peak of Arenal and less than 20 km from the entrance to Arenal Volcano National Park
Arenal Volcano National Park
Arenal Volcano National Park is a Costa Rican national park in the central part of the country, forming the Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area. The park encompasses the Arenal Volcano, the most active in the country, which had previously been believed to be dormant until a major eruption in 1968...
(the entrance is west of the peak, whereas La Fortuna is east of the peak).
Other than the volcano, La Fortuna has tourist attractions such as the La Catarata de la Fortuna
La Fortuna Waterfall, Costa Rica
La Fortuna Waterfall is located in central Costa Rica, in the Alajuela Province. In Spanish, it is known as Catarata Fortuna. The waterfall drops about 70-75 meters and is located at the base of the dormant Chato volcano, about 5.5 km outside of the town of La Fortuna, near the Arenal Volcano...
, a waterfall that falls from a height of 70 meters, several resorts with natural hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s temperate enough to bathe in, other day spa
Day spa
A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. Day spas sited in airport terminals are often called airport...
services, and day-trips which involve horseback riding, whitewater rafting, hanging bridges, a "sky tram," zip-line
Zip-line
A zip-line consists of a pulley suspended on a cable mounted on an incline...
s, mountain bike, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, and ATV or dirt bike rentals, "butterfly farm" and Venado Cavern tours, bungee jumping, Laguna Cedeno, El Salto Swimming Hole, and canyoneering.
La Fortuna has a medic station but serious injuries require a medivac (or long travel on roadways), a police station (and another is on the way to El Tapon), gas station, 3 banks, 3 groceries, restaurants (in addition to those in the resorts), post office, and hardware store.