10 Great Places to Horse Ride- #2 Costa Rica

Horse riding at the base of Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is a once in a lifetime riding adventure.

by Darley Newman

Located in Costa Rica’s fertile northern lowlands, Arenal Volcano was spewing lava, boulders and a lot of smoke when we filmed here for the Equitrekking Costa Rica episode. Talk about feeling the power of nature! While it still ranks in at #2 in our list, since October 2010, Arenal's volcanic activity, which began back in 1968, has appeared to be decreasing.

During our ride near the base, we passed through rich, green pastures up to a high point to take in Arenal Lake on one side and the tall volcano on the other. Climbing to higher elevations at the volcano's base, we rode among lava rocks listening to the rumblings of the volcano and watching smoke billow from the top of the cone. Arenal could throw rocks the size of cars and its flow had been known to change direction.

Watch the below video and read on to learn about our experience riding under the very active Arenal.

 

We waited until sunset to see the hot, red lava cascading down Arenal’s side. We also dipped into the nearby hot springs, to enjoy the soothing heat that Arenal provides and take away some of the saddle soreness. Seeing something so active at such close proximity, made me even more happy to be on horseback, just in case I needed to make a quick getaway.

Learn more about Costa Rica riding vacations at EquitrekkingTravel.com