Cerro Verde National Park — Attraction in Cantón Lomas de San Marcelino

We stayed two nights right in the park at Casa1800. The day we checked in after check in we explored the national Parque a bit to see the different vendors & market sellers. Was a weekend do the park was full of people mostly families enjoying themselves & the area. Lots of great places for kids to explore, run around, a big playground area.

They have these amazing enchanting trees that they have turned into tree top look out points. You climb up the tree & can stand on the build platforms & look out at the spectacular views of the volcanos. It never seen anything like this, the concept of the viewpoints being in tree tops was wonderful. The whole place is very well established with so many observation decks, view points etc. Great place to catch the sunset. Just so picturesque. Admission to the park is $3 pp for foreigners regardless if you stay at the hotel onsite you still must pay.

It's also quite clean, with recycling s as bad trash bins throughout,

The next morning at 9 am we met at the tour booth for a tour of Santa Ana. The price is $4 per person with another $6 to be paid at the other tourist booth that's write at the base of the volcano. Cash only!

The tour group is quite big & the guide does tend to walk through quite quickly so keeping everyone together wasn't easy & many times we had to stop to wait for people to catch up.

But the views are incredible once you get out of the forested area. The trails are well kept.

Along the way there are stands for refreshments but mostly sugary, junk food.

There was one stand at the second tourist booth that sold cut fresh fruit. So if you are in the healthy lifestyle bring your own snacks because there aren't hardly any other options from the chemical snacks.

The view to the volcano creature is out of this world, the climb is steep & rocky, and even at the top you have to be careful there is no barrier there are poles but nothing going across it to stop you from slipping & falling down: some people looked way to close so take care cuz again like most toured groups you get a guide that takes you there & nothing more, so use your own smart judgement. Hiking in sneakers is ok though hiking boots is preferred just cuz the way is super rocky. Seen some guys in flip flops so they can be done but not recommended. The weather changes quite quickly up there so recommend a windbreaker as it can get windy & drizzly.

There is a man at the top that sells ice cream which is the "cool" but to be honest the ice cream wrappers & sticks end up on the trail as they fly away or people just throw it on the ground or loose it on the way down and no one picks it up. I happened to have a plastic bag from our snacks so on the way down I picked up trash from the trail& people were surprised how much trash I ended up collecting at the end.

Which for me I always do this on all my hikes wherever I am. But it Los should be the guides responsibility & also show & set an example to the hikers that the really do take care of the trails. Especially the spots that you could see locals loved there, there was a lot of trash on the ground that no one cares to pick up.

Though at the second tourist booth there were containers for recycling.

On the way back we choose to take the truck back to the starting point. We paid $2 each & it was a fun ride & something different to experience. Though you felt like cattle here's in the back of a truck cuz it was exactly like that.

Overall the whole experience in this national Parque was lovely, magical & enchanting.

Highly recommend visiting & recommend the administration of this place have their guides pick up more trash along the way & education people especially locals to take care of the beautiful nature they have...

Payment: pay upon entering, different prices for locals/foreigners. Not expensive. Facilities: After entering the park there is a recreational area with food places (choice of cheaper local eateries to more expensive restaurants as well as picnic benches if you bring your own food). There are also souvenir shops and a great free play area for children. The access for disabled people is very good throughout this area and has disabled toilet facilities. AMAZING 360 degree views. Some beautiful flower areas with lots of intresting birds. Large parking area. HIKE: it is mandatory to have a guide on the hikes so that people don't throw trash and destroy protected areas of the park. However its easy and cheap to take a group tour directly from the park. They are well organised and have a max number of 15 people. There are 2 main hikes from the information centre in cerro verde, the first is around 45 minutes which is a circular walk and not too difficult. The second is to Santa Ana volcanoe which takes around 4/5 hours total, is a there and back route and requires a moderate amount of fitness (and alot of water!). For the Santa Ana hike you need to be at the information desk (can't miss it, in the main parking area) for 8:45 (you will see a group of people forming). You pay 50 cents at the centre for a guide and later you need to pay to enter santa ana through a private property (free for under 12s, over 65. Foreigners $3, locals cheaper). The guides were professional and knowledgeable, stopping at giving information (in spanish) at various pointa. They did not rush the group and it felt very relaxed. You can also book private tours through companies which are more expensive but can have English speaking guides and smaller...

Hiked the Santa Ana volcano. If you’re planning on starting from the cerro verde park, it’s a bit longer than the hike from one of the private tour guides before you enter the park.

I thought the tours ran from 9 am on, but there is only 1 tour leaving from cerro verde promptly at 9 am, otherwise you should just stop before you reach cerro verde and hire a private guide.

Altitude sickness is a thing on this hike but can be managed. Get there early and hire a private guide to go at your own pace. Private guide is $40 but then you still need to pay an entrance fee of $3 for tourist at cerro verde. Where we got our guide, required an additional $3 for parking and $0.50 per person for accessing private property 🙄. I paid it…

You will pass by areas that are shaded, open air, and then sunny and rocky. Wear good walking shoes, being repellant, and sunscreen and a hat.

Officials only let you up there for 30 mins once you arrive to the top and stop letting anyone to the top around 12:30 pm so plan accordingly. It’s worth the hike. We got views of the other volcano and of the lake on our way. It took us 2.5 hours to hike up and then 1.5 to hike down.

Bring $2 for the popsicles at the top of...