Tenorio Volcano National Park and Miravalles, Costa Rica, are out of this world gorgeous with aquamarine pools and waterfalls littered about the park’s interior.

Tenorio and Miravalles aren’t just the location of incredible national parks with volcanoes, hot springs, a blue lagoon and much more, but they are also the sites of an integrated energy generating network of hydroelectric and geothermal power plants. The rivers of the area are also important for the local agricultural industries. All told, Tenorio Volcano National Park and the adjacent Volcano National Park of Miravalles are beautiful and crucially important places in Costa Rica.

Among the animal life that can be found in the parks there are tapirs, peccaries, mountain goats, pacas, Central American agoutis, squirrels, howler and white-faced monkeys and anteaters. A number of larger felines can be found in Tenorio and Miravalles Volcano National Parks as well such as the jaguar, the puma, the jaguarundi and the margay. For bird enthusiasts there can be found the umbrella bird, guans, toucans, bellbirds and trogons.

The 12,872 hectares (31,807 acres) park is also home to varying group of bionetworks such as low montane pluvial forest, very humid tropical forest, pre-montane-tropical transitional forest, very humid pre-montane forest and pre-montane pluvial forest. These differing bionetworks make for a lot of diversity among the plant life of Tenorio Volcano National Park. Some of the flora found in Tenorio and Miravalles consists of palm trees, heliconias, amaranths, ginger, pantropical monocots, bromeliads, aroids, orchids, aguacatillos, sapotes, pilons, trees from the lauraceae family, marias, oak trees and the jicaro danto.

Miravalles Volcano National Park is in the Arenal Conservation Area and the province of Guanacaste as is Tenorio. They can be reached via the cities of Tilaran, San Rafael de Guatuso and Tierras Morenas, and sits just to the north of Lake Arenal. The best time of year to travel to the park would be in the dry season from December to April, and it would be advised to do so in a four wheel drive vehicle. Some things you may want to take with you to Tenorio might be a swim suit, sunscreen, thicker clothes (for the higher elevations), hiking boots, insect repellant, binoculars and a camera.

Location: Tenorio and Miravalles National Park
Items to bring: a swim suit, sunscreen, thicker clothes, hiking boots, insect repellant, binoculars, a camera
Species of fauna: tapirs, peccaries, mountain goats, pacas, Central American agoutis, squirrels, howler and white-faced monkeys, anteaters, the jaguar, the puma, the jaguarondi, the margay, the umbrella bird, guans, toucans, bellbirds, trogons
Species of flora: palm trees, heliconias, amaranths, ginger, pantropical monocots, bromeliads, aroids, orchids, aguacatillos, sapotes, pilons, trees from the lauraceae family, marias, oak trees, the jicaro danto
Cities nearby: Tilaran, San Rafael de Guatuso, Tierras Morenas
Ways to get here: rental car, tour bus, private shuttle