‘Nuevo Arenal’, literally New Arenal, is a small tourist town as well as a district in Costa Rica. The name comes from the town newly built over what was the earlier village of Arenal, located at the base of Costa Rica’s most active volcano – also named ‘Arenal’.
When a dam was completed (sometime around 1973) on a river running next to the mountain, water collected to form the artificial Lake Arenal and submerged the original village. The towns of Tilaran, La Fortuna de San Carlos and Tejona connect to this hamlet. Visitors coming in from other countries normally fly down to either of the two international airports in Costa Rica and then drive down to Nuevo Arenal. The town has consistently cool weather round the year and is located approximately 600 meters above sea level, enabling a 12 month long tourist season.
Nuevo Arenal Costa Rica
One of the better known hotels for vacationers at Nuevo Arenal is ‘Los Heroes’, though there are a number of lodging options available to suit all pockets. A number of excellent Italian and German eating houses along with other restaurants serve an impressive variety of cuisine. Night life in this small town is quite vibrant, especially at the bars and resorts. The town has the distinction of having the one and only gas station in the area. Banking services are good as are health care facilities. Tourists can choose from a wide variety of items at the souvenir shops. Arenal Botanical Gardens are located a few kilometres away from the town and is well known for its large collection of plants, including orchids and ferns. It is well worth a visit as a number of birds and butterfly specie can also be observed there.
The district of Nuevo Arenal has some of the most breathtaking scenery a vacationer can come across in Costa Rica, what with the massive Arenal Volcano and the large lake alongside. The tiny town with the same name has become a must go place for those travelling the area, whether as trekkers and back packers on the eco-tourism trail, or as anglers and fishers, or the ordinary sightseer. The place abounds in being home to a variety of birds and animals, including the colourful toucans, different species of monkeys, etc. There is very good fishing available on Lake Arenal and strong gusty winds attract a lot of windsurfers from November through to April of each year.
Nuevo Arenal town has something to offer all kinds of visitors and the facilities provided at the lodges and merchant houses complement the civic facilities to make for a very pleasant experience for the tourist. In a country where tourism takes pride of place as the biggest earner of foreign exchange and contributing the largest amount to the GDP, taking care of visitors is a serious business. So it makes sense for you and me to enjoy some stunning natural beauty, eat some of that rainbow bass from the lake and hike up the volcano’s side. What in the world are we waiting for??!!
