Cartago Highlights & Irazu Volcano – Private Tour

CARTAGO HIGHLIGHTS & IRAZU VOLCANO
PRIVATE TOUR

Book Now

Costa Rica cultural tours with Greenway Tours. Explore the best of Cartago Province and Irazu Volcano with this exclusive private tour.

This Costa Rica cultural tour and ecological experience will be visiting the former Capital of Costa Rica Cartago and its highlights such as Irazu Volcano, Orosi Town, Ujarras Ruins, Cachi Hydroelectric Dam and more.

This popular cultural tour star with the pick up at your hotel. After it, one-hour transfer will take you to the summit of this beautiful volcano. Irazú Volcano National Park is a National Park in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area of Costa Rica.  The volcano is still active although the last major eruptions were between 1963 and 1965, with occasional minor eruptions and some small lava flows since that time. The Crater Principal lake has an unusual greenish yellow coloring caused by rainfall dissolving the minerals along the craters walls. It has also been known to change colour to rust-red depending on the minerals present.

The name could come from either the combination of ara (point) and tzu (thunder) or a corruption of Iztarú, which was the name of an indigenous village on the flanks of the volcano. In Costa Rica, it is known by the name of El Coloso (The Colossus) due to the catastrophes that it has provoked in the past.

The volcano´s summit has several craters, one of which contains Diego de la Haya, a green crater lake of variable depth. At 11,260 feet (3,432 m), the Irazú Volcano is the highest active volcano in Costa Rica. It is easily visited from San José, with a road leading right up to the summit craters. From the top, it is possible to see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on a clear day. However, such clear days are rare, and the volcano´s  summit is usually cloud-covered.

The national park contains both primary and secondary montane forests and is home to armadillos, owls, rabbits, foxes, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds. Temperatures at its summit vary between 3 and 17 °C (37 and 63 °F) Irazu volcano is a stratovolcano with a summit elevation of 3,432 metres (11,260 ft). Its five craters are easily differentiated. The most important ones, because of their activity, are The Main Crater and the Diego de la Haya crater.

The Main Crater is almost circular, has very inclined walls and it measures 1,050 metres (3,440 ft) in diameter and 300 metres (980 ft) deep. The Diego de la Haya crater is 600 metres (2,000 ft) in diameter and 100 metres (330 ft) deep. Other craters are Playa Hermosa, La Laguna, and El Piroclastico.

After the visit to the volcano, you will enjoy the beauty of the Orosi Valley and Town, Ujarras Ruins and Cachi Lake and its Hydroelectric Dam. Lunch included in a beautiful local restaurant before to descend to the historical City of Cartago. Here you will visit the mysterious ruins of the old Parish and view the beautiful Basilica Virgen de los Angeles, with rich displays of carvings, statues and art. Return to the Hotel by 5:00 PM.

Greenway Nature Tours is a Certified Travel Agency and Tour Operator by the Costa Rican Tourist Board with special certification in Sustainable Travel (CST). We offer 40 unique private tours from San Jose Costa Rica.

Start planning your Costa Rica Day Tours today. Email us for more Costa Rica cultural tours