hiking· volcanic· Hiking· Misty

Laguna Botos

Emerald crater lake on Poás Volcano

4.5(2 reviews)

Poás Volcano NP

Best Time to Go

“Best before the day arrives”

About this place

The inactive Botos crater — just a short walk from Poás Volcano's famously active main crater — holds a lake of startling emerald green, fringed by cloud forest so dense and dripping with moisture that every surface is upholstered in moss. Unlike the main crater which is frequently closed due to sulphur emissions, Laguna Botos is almost always accessible and rarely crowded. The 30-minute loop trail passes through one of the few remaining examples of cloud forest páramo in Costa Rica.

What People Say

4.5· 2

Elena R.

March 2025

This is what the Poás crater often isn't — reliably open and staggeringly beautiful. The cloud forest around the lake is ancient and silent. Went at 7am and saw a resplendent quetzal.

✦ More reliable than main Poás crater✦ Quetzal sighting possible

Marcus W.

January 2025

The páramo ecosystem here is unique — nowhere else in Costa Rica looks like this. Bring good waterproofs, it can rain suddenly at any time.

✦ Unique páramo ecosystem✦ Bring waterproofs