Arenal Volcano's Base Camp — hot springs under the stars, La Fortuna waterfall, zip-lining through rainforest, and the best casado in Costa Rica
La Fortuna is Costa Rica's adventure capital — a small town at the base of Arenal Volcano, the country's most active stratovolcano and the visual center of a spectacular eco-tourism zone. The Río Fortuna waterfall, a 70-meter drop through primary rainforest, is a 20-minute hike from town. Arenal Observatory Lodge sits on the flank of the volcano; the La Fortuna hot springs complex (Tabacón, Baldi) pumps geothermally heated water through landscaped jungle pools. Casado — rice, black beans, salad, plantain, and a protein — is the defining lunch of rural Costa Rica and La Fortuna's sodas (local…
La Fortuna ('the fortune') was a small farming community before Arenal Volcano's major eruption in 1968, which destroyed the nearby town of Tabacón and killed 87 people — transforming the entire region's relationship with the volcano from indifference to acute awareness. The development of eco-tourism infrastructure from the 1980s onward converted La Fortuna's proximity to the active volcano from a liability into its primary economic asset. Costa Rica's decision to abolish its military in 1948 and redirect the defense budget to education and conservation directly created the national park sys…