Lake Arenal

At the foot of the volcano, this 80km² (30mi²) manmade reservoir was built in the 1970s by the state-owned Costa Rican Electrical Company (ICE). The lake’s water is used to generate 40% of the country’s electricity using hydroelectric power.

Activities to do here include fishing, kayaking, and boating; and on the windy northwestern end of the lake, you can go windsurfing and kite surfing. A scenic road leads from La Fortuna around the lake toward the towns of Nuevo Arenal and Tilarán. From Tilarán, you can get to the mountain region of Monteverde or to the hot lowlands of the Guanacaste plains.