You need to wear these rubber boots, Pablo our host at La Finca Anita Rainforest Ranch explains – to guard against snake bites. Oh great I’m thinking. John and I are both wondering what we’ve got ourselves into hiking in Costa Rica.
We have elected to do a guided hike of beautiful cone-shaped Miravalles Volcano – one of the 61 volcanoes in Costa Rica that is dormant.
If you’re planning to go hiking in Costa Rica, it’s sometimes worth having a guide – and this is one of those times. Not only are the trails ill-defined but there are snakes – both venomous and non-venomous and we want a local who knows the lay of the land.
Our guide lives right beside the unmarked trailhead and this is the third time he’s climbing it this week. I’m not sure though if he’s guided many middle-aged women before because he certainly gives me the once over – and I’m betting he figures he has a long day on his hands.
![Miravalles Volcano seen from the highway](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-1.jpg)
Hiking in Costa Rica to the top of Miravalles Volcano
The trail to Miravalles Volcano starting in a field 14 kilometres north of Bagaces in northern Costa Rica.
It heads first through cow pastures and then up very steeply into dense cloud forest. It’s reportedly an 8 hour return hike but we’re psyched to do it and ready for some exercise after too many days of travel and preparation.
![Hiking in Costa Rica on the only flat section of trail](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-2.jpg)
Don’t touch a thing when you hike
Climb up through the rainforest – where you dare not touch or grab anything unless you’ve checked it out. Initially we are very uptight.
Our head would sway back and forth monitoring every perceived movement. But by the middle of the afternoon we get blasé about the whole thing – as nothing bad had happened.
![After about 40 minutes of climbing we get some views out to the Pacific Ocean](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-3.jpg)
![Our Spanish speaking guide pointing out a nest of some sort](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-4.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica past very strange vegetation](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-5.jpg)
![There were only a few arrows on the trail](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-6.jpg)
![Some of the vines climbing the trees are reportedly 1000 years old](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-7.jpg)
![The only butterfly that stood still long enough for a photo](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-8.jpg)
![It was a relief to have a few minutes out in the open - and views of the valley were amazing](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-9.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica with the dog in front as an early warning system for snakes](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-10.jpg)
![The rainforest gets thicker the higher we climb](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-11.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica with a view of Lake Nicaragua & the Pacific Ocean](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-12.jpg)
![Colourful succulents at the summit](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-13.jpg)
![There's a massive drop down into the crater - but it's disguised by vegetation](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-14.jpg)
![The dog has his favourite nest at the summit - but just another foot away is a drop of hundreds of feet](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-15.jpg)
![The bromeliads grow on the limbs of a tree](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-16.jpg)
![Go hiking in Costa Rica and you'll find bromeliads in the rainforest](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-17.jpg)
![Looks like a member of the morning glory family](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-18.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica and I'm one hot, sweaty mess by mid-afternoon](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-19.jpg)
Our only snake sighting
It’s not until we’re 20 minutes from the car that we see our one and only snake sighting. It’s a green snake about 6 feet long but fortunately non-venomous and uninterested in us.
![The dog jumped over it, and the guide just jumped. Would you have seen this snake?](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-24.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica means watching for snakes](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-20.jpg)
![Hiking in Costa Rica through cow pastures](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-21.jpg)
![Getting the hairy eyeball from the cows](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-22.jpg)
![The last of the views - to Nicaragua - before we reach the car](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Hiking-in-Costa-Rica-23.jpg)
Hiking in Costa Rica can be tough
This hike to the summit of the volcano is a hard one. The combination of heat and humidity as well as considerable foot discomfort, especially as the day went on – on account of ill-fitting rubber boots – made the 1000 metres up and down feel harder than it should have.
Fortunately there are benefits – that wonderful feeling of happy hormones coursing through your body after a physically tough day and the phenomenal views of Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean.
And much do our guide’s relief we were up and down in just over six hours.
Further reading on things to do in Central America
- 32 Interesting Facts About Costa Rica
- Cangreja Waterfall Hike, Rincon de La Vieja National Park
- The Canopy Tower Experience in Panama
- 10 of the Best Things to Do in Panama
- 5 Amazing Volcanoes to Hike in Nicaragua
Click on the photo to bookmark to your Pinterest boards.
![The Miravalles Volcano hike in Costa Rica](https://hikebiketravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Costa-Rica__16.jpg)