All 2 in 3 days here: ~60%
Arenal Volcano National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Northern Lowlands, Costa Rica 1298 spp. recorded
Arenal Volcano is Costa Rica's most iconic volcano, a near-perfect cone rising 1,670 meters above Lake Arenal and surrounding rainforest. The park protects a transition zone between lowland rainforest and cloud forest, creating exceptional habitat diversity. Old lava flows host a remarkable succession of pioneer plants and wildlife, while the surrounding forests shelter toucans, howler monkeys, coatis, and over 500 bird species.
10.455° N 84.711° W
🦜 Nature
795 Species sighted
761,013 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jul Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 380 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 3 in 3 days here: ~50%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~30%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~30%
Recent sightings in Arenal Volcano National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSounds of Arenal Volcano National Park
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
77Jan
79Feb
85Mar
87Apr
87May
81Jun
88Jul
81Aug
73Sep
85Oct
86Nov
80Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
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Arenal Observatory Lodge
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
White-nosed Coati~90%+10%
Red-eyed Treefrog~90%+20%
Middle American Ameiva~80%+10%
Warszewitsch's Frog~70%+30%
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird~70%≈
Montezuma Oropendola~70%+10%
Scarlet-rumped Tanager~70%-10%
Crested Guan~70%≈
Great Curassow~70%+10%
Masked Tree Frog~60%+20%
Clay-colored Thrush~60%-10%
Blue-gray Tanager~60%-10%
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Catarata de La Fortuna
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Red-eyed Treefrog~80%+10%
- Masked Tree Frog~70%+30%
Harlequin Treefrog~70%+30%
Strawberry Poison-dart Frog~60%+10%- Middle American Ameiva~60%-10%
Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+20%
Fer-de-lance~60%+20%
Emerald Glass Frog~60%+30%
Mahogany Tree Frog~60%+20%
Border Anole~50%+10%
Brown-throated Sloth~50%≈
Black-mandibled Toucan~50%-10%
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Arenal Misticopark (Hanging Bridges)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- White-nosed Coati~90%+10%
- Strawberry Poison-dart Frog~90%+30%
- Red-eyed Treefrog~70%≈
- Middle American Ameiva~70%+10%
Decorated Anole~70%+40%- Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+30%
Helmeted Iguana~50%+30%- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird~50%-20%
Collared Peccary~50%+20%- Masked Tree Frog~50%≈
- Fer-de-lance~40%+10%
- Scarlet-rumped Tanager~40%-40%
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Arenal 1968 Volcano View and Trails
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- White-nosed Coati~90%+10%
- Middle American Ameiva~90%+20%
Variegated Squirrel~60%+20%- Border Anole~50%+10%
- Mantled Howler Monkey~50%+10%
- Red-eyed Treefrog~50%-30%
- Montezuma Oropendola~40%-20%
- Brown-throated Sloth~40%-10%
Central American White-faced Capuchin~40%+20%
Northern Tamandua~40%+10%
Basiisk Verde~40%-10%- Fer-de-lance~30%≈
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El Tigre Waterfalls
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
High
Typical stay
2–3
daysTrails
Hard
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
ExcellentHow rich is the wildlife?
4.7
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 818
🐒 Mammals 214
🦎 Reptiles 157
🐸 Amphibians 109
1298 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
45 Threatened 99 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
4.3
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
68% 📊
Coverage (324 species at ≥5% of 1298 in the inventory)
25% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 amphibian, 1 mammal, 1 reptile)
69% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
196 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
22 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
36 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
2.9
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
Arenal Observatory Lodge’s night tour was particularly good for seeing frogs, toads and eyelash pit vipers, though we also saw a Mexican mouse opossum, a praying mantis, a tarantula, stick insects and fireflies, to name but a few.
Along the walk we saw, c lockwise after the Scarlet Macaw: - a Viper - a Great Curassow - a Broad-billed Motmot - a Laughing Falcon Threatening rain sent us to lunch at Selva Rustica where we both had corvina fish, Bill with rosemary butter and Pat with sea food sauce.
Walking back we found a pair of usually-scarce Smoky-brown Woodpeckers foraging near the road along with a beautiful Black-cheeked Woodpecker, and further down there was a little group of Black-striped Sparrows.
Late in the afternoon while sitting out on our deck we heard a ruckus from a number of birds and then saw an Ornate Hawk Eagle pop into view.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Arenal Volcano National Park?
1,298 species
Arenal Volcano National Park has 1,298 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are White-nosed Coati (about 80%), Scarlet-rumped Tanager (about 80%), Red-eyed Treefrog (about 70%), Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 70%) and Clay-colored Thrush (about 70%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Middle American Ameiva (about 60%).
When is the best time to visit Arenal Volcano National Park for wildlife?
November to August
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in September and October.
Can you see a Red-eyed Treefrog in Arenal Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-eyed Treefrog sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 1,013 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April, June, August and December (about 80%).
Can you see a White-nosed Coati in Arenal Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a White-nosed Coati sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 1,135 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is December (about 90%).
Can you see a Brown-throated Sloth in Arenal Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-throated Sloth sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 517 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March, August and December–January (about 60%).
Can you see a Keel-billed Toucan in Arenal Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Keel-billed Toucan sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 6,274 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and October (about 50%).
Where in Arenal Volcano National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Arenal Observatory Lodge
The richest sighting zone is around Arenal Observatory Lodge, followed by Catarata de La Fortuna and Arenal Misticopark (Hanging Bridges), ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Arenal Volcano National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.4 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Arenal Volcano National Park rates 4.4/5: 60th of 316 parks worldwide and 5th in Central America. 53 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
