Miravalles volcano and its hot springs: the Guanacaste almost nobody visits

What is the Miravalles volcano?

It is a volcano in the Guanacaste range, in northern Costa Rica, and one of the least-visited in the whole cordillera. What makes it special is not a postcard eruption but the geothermal activity you can see on the ground around it: fumaroles, mud pots bubbling away, and hot springs.

While most of the country’s volcano tourism heads to Arenal or Poás, Miravalles stays quiet, on the slopes where Fortuna de Bagaces sits. This is inland Guanacaste — the part that never makes the beach brochures, and, for exactly that reason, the part you walk without lines or crowds.

The Guanacaste range is full of cones, but this one earned its name for geothermal energy rather than eruptions. So you do not come to Miravalles to watch a smoking crater from a distance: you come to walk a landscape where the ground itself breathes, with steam rising from cracks in the earth and pools of hot mud shifting on their own.

Why are there hot springs at Miravalles?

Because the volcano’s own heat warms the water underground. In the Fortuna de Bagaces area there are hot springs fed by Miravalles, sitting at a mild, comfortable temperature, around 38°C (about 100°F).

It is pure geothermal energy: water seeps into the subsoil, the volcano’s heat warms it, and it comes back up already warm in springs around the area. No trick, no boiler needed, and no chemistry — the warmth is the volcano’s, delivered straight to the surface. That same heat, at a much larger scale, drives the state power company’s geothermal field on Miravalles, which generates electricity for the country from the volcano’s steam. It is public information, and it gives you a good sense of how much energy this mountain holds inside.

Where are the Miravalles hot springs?

In the Fortuna de Bagaces area, on the slopes of the volcano. Here is the honest part: we are not going to send you to a named hot spring, because this site only lists what it has verified and we are still building out the area.

What is true and verifiable is that there are hot springs in the area, heated by Miravalles. As the team checks the places, they will appear on the Bagaces page with real prices and details, one by one. We would rather tell you “there are hot springs in the area” than invent which one is best without having gone — that is the rule this whole list is built on.

Can it be confused with La Fortuna near Arenal?

Yes, and it happens often, so it is worth clearing up. Fortuna de Bagaces, on the slopes of Miravalles, is a district in Guanacaste. La Fortuna is a different town, in Alajuela province, beside the Arenal volcano, several hours away.

Both are called Fortuna and both have hot springs, but they are not the same place and they are not close. Arenal is the big, well-known destination, with far more tourism. Miravalles is the opposite: quiet, uncrowded, and on the Guanacaste side. If you search “Fortuna hot springs” and get the lake and the perfect cone of Arenal, that is not Miravalles.

How do you get to Miravalles?

Through Guanacaste, inland, with Bagaces as the natural starting point. From Bagaces to Miravalles is about 31 kilometers (19 miles), roughly forty-five minutes by car.

And it sits close to the country’s northern gateway: from Miravalles to Liberia’s international airport is about 46 kilometers (29 miles). So you can land in Liberia and be in the volcano area the same day without much driving. Getting around here works best with a car, as in most of inland Guanacaste; the reasoning is in do you need a car in Costa Rica?.

When is the best time to visit Miravalles?

The dry season, December to April, keeps the roads firm and the skies clear for exploring the volcano. It is Guanacaste’s high season and the surest bet for sun, though March and April bring real heat down in the lowlands.

One advantage of hot springs is that they work in any weather: in the dry season or under a green-season downpour, sinking into warm water is just as good — better, even, when it is cool outside. If you are planning by dates, read dry season in Costa Rica to understand how summer behaves in this part of the country and why an El Niño year makes it drier still.

What else is there to do near Miravalles?

Plenty, because the volcano is only one of the three big things in the Bagaces area. Nearby are the Llanos de Cortés waterfall, with its turquoise pools, and Palo Verde National Park, one of the best wetlands in the country for birds.

That is enough for a full multi-day trip without leaving the area: the volcano and its hot springs, the waterfall to swim in, the wetlands for the birds, and the Papagayo beaches an hour away for a day by the sea. It is a different way to see Guanacaste: instead of staying pinned to the coast, you head inland and use the sea as a day trip. Bagaces makes a cheap base for all of it; how to use it is in where to stay near Liberia, and the whole county is on the Bagaces page.