Turrialba
The Turrialba National Park and Volcano is one of the few virgin volcanoes on the Central Valley, as well as the Barva Volcano. So, if you are looking for adventure and you do not care about commodities, this is the perfect volcano for you. The volcano has an elevation of 3340 meters above sea level (the second highest volcano in the country), and it is located near to the Turrialba town in Cartago Province.
The massif of the Turrialba volcano has three main craters: an East crater occasionally filled with water, a central crater with fumaroles and an intermittent lake, and a West crater with magmatic activity.The last important eruptive activity of the Turrialba occurred between 1864 and 1866. The Turrialba activity are strong eruptions of lava, pyroclast and ashes. Recently, the activity has been just in the fumaroles in the central and west craters. This volcano also has gases emission and sometimes causes problems to the surrounding vegetation (including crops). The Guayabo National Monument is close to the Turrialba volcano, and it has been suggested that the orientation of the archaeological monument is purposely directed towards the Turrialba volcano.
The area surrounding the volcano was declared a National Park in 1955, as well as the Irazú volcano. This is the only volcano where you can walk inside the crater. The view from the volcano is spectacular. The flora of the Turrialba volcano is similar to the Irazú, with oaks, and Podocarpus as common species. There has been reported 84 species of birds for the park, including the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicencis), volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula),tangaras and woodpeckers. Eleven species of mammals has been reported for the region, including coyote, armadillo, and skunk. The park has pic-nic area, bathrooms, trails and a viewpoint.
Sources: Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica; Chavarría, O. 2005. Costa Rica: Land of Volcanoes. EUNED. 360 p.; Area de Conservación Cordillera Volcánica Central; Boza, M. 1981. Los Parques Nacionales de Costa Rica. Incafo. 310 p.