Tenorio Volcano and Celeste River

Tenorio Volcano National Park is located in the northern part of Costa Rica along the Guanacaste mountain range. Like most of the volcanos ...

Tenorio Volcano National Park is located in the northern part of Costa Rica along the Guanacaste mountain range. Like most of the volcanos in Costa Rica, Tenorio volcano is currently dormant. But no one knows for how long it will be like that since the tectonic plates in Costa Rica are constantly moving.
Among all the national parks we have visited in Costa Rica, this park was the most remote and rugged one. Of course, this means fewer visitors. But to get to and out of the park was an adventure on its own. For the first time on our trip, I was really glad that we had rented an SUV. Old dirt roads made with boulders, steep hills, often not enough space to scrape by for two cars going in opposite directions - all these things made me sweat. But the park was well worth the effort, and I highly recommend visiting it while in Costa Rica.
As you drive to the park, some private signposts along the road are very confusing as they look very similar to the official brown signs installed by SINAC, the national parks service in Costa Rica. If you drive from San Jose or the Arenal area, the official park's ranger station is going to be on your left. 
I understand that right now there is only one trail in the park accessible by the public which starts at the ranger station and takes you to the Celeste River and its famous waterfalls. The trail is linear and about one mile (1.6 km) each way. However, it seems that there is an option to buy a private tour to get to the top of the volcano's crater.
The terrain's difficulty is rather moderate with no very steep sections. However, keep in mind that you are in a rainforest, so the trail gets pretty muddy as it's generally not paved. For that reason, some locals try to scare you that the mud can reach your knees to make you rent a pair of rubber boots for $10 (adults). First, it's not that bad. Second, it's so much fun to get a little bit muddy! Try to experience it yourself.
The area at the lower elevation is covered with rainforest, however, as you hike up it yields to a cloud forest.
"Celeste" is "sky blue" in Spanish. And that's exactly the color of the Celeste River which flows through the park. It has its color due to the high concentration of sulphur in water which it gets from the volcano. 
Celeste River has interesting geothermal features such as this bubbling ("borbollónes" in Spanish). And, yes, it smells exactly how you guessed it.
The forest vegetation is extremely diverse and lush.
The trail ends at the place called Teñidero, a mixing point of two different streams - the Buenavista River (transparent, bottom) and Quebrada Agria (milky, upper left to bottom right). As a result of a chemical reaction, there is a high concentration of sulphur in the suspension which is not dissolved and is well-known to reflect blue light. This is where the Celeste River is born with its beautiful turquoise color.
While having some snacks at Teñidero, we spotted an animal called coati. They are from the raccoon family and are native to Central and South America. They look adorable but can be fierce fighters if threatened or endangered. They can even fight with a jaguar which also lives in this park.
The well-paved staircase leads to the beautiful Celeste River Waterfalls. 
The waterfalls is a highlight of the park and is best seen when it's sunny. People used to swim in the Celeste River's pools, but apparently, it caused some diseases so it's prohibited to do so now.
It's a truly magical place.
One of the park's volcano peaks is seen from the road.

I'm a travel photographer and writer originally from Ukraine and now living in Canada. I have found a way to combine all my passions - travelling, photography, history, science and writing - in a single blog. I hope you will find it enjoyable and useful and will definitely come back.

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