Arenal Volcano Lookout beyond Santa Elena Reserve (sunrise pasture)
Viewpoint · Monteverde · hidden gem
Past the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve, the dirt road toward San Gerardo tops out on the continental divide at an open, treeless pasture. On a clear morning you look straight down to Arenal Volcano and Lake Arenal, and with luck you can pick out Tenorio and Rincón de la Vieja far to the northwest. Costa Rican visitors drive up for sunrise; there's nothing here but the view.
- Cost
- Free
- Time there
- 30 min
- Best time
- sunrise or the first hour after it, before clouds build
- Kids
- 6 / 10
- View
- 9 / 10
- Crowds
- 1 / 10
- Swimming
- 2 / 10
- Effort
- 1 / 10
- Location
- 10.3623, -84.80349 — Google Maps
Before you go
- Entry
- Free
- Tickets
- Free entry, no ticket
- Parking
- On the street
- Road
- 4×4 needed
- Kids
- Good for kids
- Bring
- warm jacket, coffee or breakfast, camera
- Fewer people
- At sunrise you'll share it with a few locals at most
- Checked
- 2026-10
Tip
Leave Santa Elena about 30 minutes before sunrise, bring a jacket and a thermos of coffee, then head back to town for breakfast.
Be careful
The road beyond the reserve is rough dirt, narrow and often foggy: drive slowly with a high-clearance car or 4x4. The pasture is farmland, so watch from the roadside and don't open gates.
Getting there
From Santa Elena follow Calle Reserva Santa Elena to the reserve entrance and keep going north on the dirt road toward San Gerardo; the open lookout is about 2 km past the reserve entrance.
Places nearby
- Selvatura ParkTours & Adventure · takes 1 h–2.5 h · from $13.50Large cloud forest adventure park near Santa Elena with ziplines, hanging bridges and wildlife exhibits.
- Treetopia ParkTours & Adventure · from $49Cloud-forest adventure park (also known as Sky Adventures Monteverde) with a gondola tram, zipline, six hanging bridges and a tree-climbing course, on nearly 300 acres with only a small part developed.
- 100% Aventura CanopyTours & Adventure · from $45Family-owned Costa Rican canopy park with a long superman zipline (site says 1,590 m), a Mega Tarzan swing and a guided hanging-bridge walk.
- The Original Canopy Tour MonteverdeTours & Adventure · takes 2 h–2.5 h · from $80Monteverde's original zipline tour since 1994, run in small groups and including a climb inside a giant hollow fig tree.
- Monteverde Extremo ParkTours & Adventure · from $45.20Adrenaline park above the cloud forest with a long canopy line, a 143 m bungee jump (billed as Central America's highest) and a Tarzan swing.
- Monteverde Brewing CompanyFood & Coffee · from $39Local brewpub next to the brewery, pouring its own craft beers (Sirena Dorada, Red Tapir and more) with patacones, wings and hummus.
Sources: OpenStreetMap node/954277697 · https://quebuenlugar.com/es/lugares/monteverde-parte-2/ · https://quebuenlugar.com/es/lugares/monteverde-parte-1/ · https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/954277697