The Barva Volcano is located in the Braulio Carrillo National Park in the Province of Heredia, at about 30 km away from Central San Jose. This Volcano unlike the currently active Turrialba Volcano is completely dormant; the last time that this volcano reportedly made any sort of activity was more than 7,000 years ago. However, there are still some tiny craters that have bubbling water in some points of the mountain.
This Volcano has a height of about 3,000 meters above sea level, therefore, it is one the top 3 tallest volcanos in all Costa Rica along with the Poas Volcano in the Province of Alajuela and the Irazu Volcano in the Province of Cartago. This volcano also has 3 almost perfectly round craters called “Las 3 Marias” or “The 3 Maries”. Due to the fact that the volcano has been inactive for so long, the vegetation has grown significantly and this type of jungle is considered a Cloud Forest. This volcano is home to over 80 different species of exotic birds like the Quetzal, Hummingbirds and the beautiful three-waddled bellbird, which is my personal favorite because of the distinctive call, also referred to as the bilingual bird, because it has 2 different calls before it lets out its 3 loud bell sound. The Barva Volcano is also home to over 20 different types of the Abundant Wildlife of Costa Rica, mammals like the Capuchin Monkey, Ocelots, Jaguars, Tapirs and Coyotes.
Now some of you may be asking why this volcano has the name “Barva”, well, in the Huetar’s Indigenous Tribe language Barva means “Town of the Ant Eater”, and this area is known for having a large population of ant eaters. Other theories state that this could also mean “Tribu de las Abejas” (Tribe of Bees), due to the translation in the Nahua Indigenous Tribe language. Till this day we can’t really be sure of the real meaning, however both ways could be a valid reason for the meaning of the name for the Barva Volcano.
A good amount of local and foreign tourists visit the Barva Volcano and its attractions every year, the staff of the National Park offers a complete tour of the beautiful scenery that the volcano has to offer, not to mention the trails that you can take to see more of the outskirts of the Volcano and its wildlife, like the Cacho de Venado trail, which is about a 2 hour walk, mainly for birdwatching aficionados; or the Mirador Vara Blanca, which is a 50 minute very scenic walk; and last but not least the Crater Laguna Volcan, which is about a 2 hours roundtrip walk that will allow you access to the volcano’s main crater. This area is also known for its mass production of dairy products that are exported, as well as domestic goods. The most common and the biggest dairy product consumed locally is the cheese that is produced in this area.
So this was a little description of all that the Barva Volcano really is like, we hope you visit this park, it is educational and excellent for watching the beautiful Costa Rica’s Nature.
