Arenal Lake is a large man-made lake located in Costa Rica, near the Arenal Volcano and the town of La Fortuna. The lake was created in 1979 when the Costa Rica government built a hydroelectric dam on the Arenal River. Arenal Lake is now a popular destination for fishing, kayaking, and other water activities. The lake is also surrounded by beautiful scenery and offers views of the Arenal Volcano and the surrounding rain-forest.
Located 18 kilometers from La Fortuna, this artificial lagoon of almost 90 square kilometers is another of the places to see in La Fortuna. Although depending on the time you are going to be in the area, you can spend a couple of hours walking the road, if your next destination is Monteverde, we recommend you leave this route for the journey since you will have to skirt the lake to do the route. And it is that contrary to what it may seem on the map, to get to Monteverde from La Fortuna, you must skirt Lake Arenal and then take a mountain road until you reach Monteverde.
If this is your plan for the route through Costa Rica for free, as we did, we recommend you get up early so that you can make some stops at the viewpoints and areas with good views of the volcano, as well as enjoying the surroundings of the road. , in fairly good condition, where you can see a number of small restaurants, galleries, lodgings, numerous land for sale waiting for some tourist to fall in love with the place and make Arenal Lake their future home.
Information
Lake Arenal (Spanish: Lago Arenal) is a lake which is situated in the northern highlands of Costa Rica. It is currently the largest lake in Costa Rica at 85-square-kilometre (33 sq mi). Its depth varies between 30 and 60 meters (100–200 feet) seasonally.
The town of Arenal was relocated to higher ground when the lake was expanded in 1979. The old towns of Arenal and Tronadora now lie abandoned at the bottom of the lake, with the new town of Arenal existing to the northeast on the lake.
Lake Arenal was tripled in size with the construction of the Arenal dam in 1979, which exists at the eastern end of the lake. This hydroelectric project exists at the western end of the lake and is strategically important to Costa Rica, initially generating 70% of the country’s electricity, now closer to 17%, and was also a driving force behind Costa Rica’s green energy policy.
Nature
Fish species in Lake Arenal include the machaca and the rainbow bass. There are also many species of plants, 120 mammals (including jaguar and tapir), and 300 birds (including quetzal).
Recreation
From November through April the strong, dependable winds attract windsurfers and kite surfers to its western end. Many consider Lake Arenal one of the world’s foremost windsurfing and kite surfing areas. Wake-boarding is gaining popularity in Costa Rica, with Lake Arenal being the center of this activity. Stand up paddling and kayaking are also popular activities for tourists visiting the lake’s Eastern part near the earthen dam. There is much good fishing (primarily for rainbow bass) and now kayak fishing opportunities in the shallow and secluded coves. The area surrounding the lake has good hiking, biking, bird watching, and horseback riding opportunities.
