Hiking Cerro Chato

La Fortuna, Costa Rica

In the shadows of Volcan Arenal lies the small town of La Fortuna. The town was actually previously called El Burio, but after a huge eruption in 1968 that destroyed most of the surrounding area except for the little town below, they changed the name of the city to “The Fortunate”.

Upon getting our first glimpse of the city, Mac had the harebrained idea that it would be a really cool follow up to our Concepcion hike to try and summit one mountain in every country we visit. For a split-second I was mildly intrigued, but then my sanity returned and I remained to be fully convinced. Lucky for me, hiking & summiting Volcan Arenal isn’t permitted. Fortunately for Mac, hiking the smaller & more manageable neighbouring hill, Cerro Chato, is allowed, so that’s exactly what we did!

Even though it pales in comparison to it’s towering neighbour, Arenal, hiking Chato was no small feat. With an elevation of 1140m (3740 feet) above sea level, the hike took about 2 hours. Where Concepcion had us tumbling up rocks, Chato was full of tree roots & mud hills. It was definitely an adventure for the knees!

Once at the top, you’re greeted with a great* view of the Arenal Volcano (*on clear days. Being that La Fortuna has pretty consistent rainy weather, the summit is often covered in clouds), and the crater lake below.

Another trail leads from the viewing platform down to the lake’s edge. Feeling a bit sweaty from the ascent, Mac wanted to cool off so he swam across the lake while myself and our hiker friends met him on the other side.

After another glance back at Arenal it was time for the descent. Our legs & knees sure got a workout that day! At the bottom near the visitor’s centre, there is an option to hike another trail to see the La Fortuna Waterfall, but after our hike none of us were quite in the mood or physical condition to do another trek.

Cerro Chato was a tough but rewarding climb. I’d recommend it to anyone going to visit La Fortuna. I’d avoid going after a rainfall though. It had briefly rained the night before our hike and the trail was a bit muddy in areas. The parts of the trail that were steep were quite difficult and very slick with the mud. I can’t imagine doing it in worse conditions.

Total Time: 2 hours up, 2 hours down and about 1 hour hiking around the crater lake.

Total Cost: $10/person entrance fee*.

*We paid the entrance fee at the visitor’s centre but we ended up taking ‘the local route’ (we cut across a field) and never had to show our tickets to anyone. Some tour groups we ran into had to pay upwards of $60/person, so I don’t mind paying what we did. Plus, the path was very well maintained so I’m happy to donate to the upkeep of the area.