Nuevo Arenal
Also known as: Arenal
The town built for the families of old Arenal when the reservoir covered their original village. It sits on the lake's northern shore, roughly an hour's drive from La Fortuna.
What you can do for free
- Walk and wanderWalk around town, which the Tilarán Municipality lists as having a Catholic church and parish hall.
- Learn local historyLearn the story of the relocation. Most of old Arenal ended up under the lake.
- Take in the lakeSee Lake Arenal from its northern shore.
Nuevo Arenal exists because of the lake. When ICE built the reservoir in the 1970s, the original village of Arenal was going to end up underwater. According to the Tilarán Municipality, residents were offered seven relocation options in a referendum on 17 November 1974, and most chose a site 12 km from the original. By December 1977, 330 houses had been built. Most of Viejo Arenal ended up under the water.
Visiting costs nothing: it is a town with public streets, a Catholic church and local life, on the northern shore of the lake in Tilarán canton (Guanacaste). A travel guide also describes a small grassy park by the lake where locals hang out, but we could not confirm who manages it or whether it charges, so we do not recommend it yet.
It is a good turnaround point if you drive Route 142 from La Fortuna, passing the dam.
How to get there
Take Route 142 from La Fortuna. You pass the dam and keep following the lake westwards. A public La Fortuna–Tilarán bus runs through the area, but we found no official timetable.
Permitted access
A town with public roads. Farms and properties along the lakeshore may be private.
Terrain and conditions
You reach it on a paved but very winding road, according to a travel guide.
What to bring
- Water and a snack for the road.
Precautions
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The lake road is very winding. Only stop at safe pull-offs.
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In heavy rain, the road between La Fortuna and Nuevo Arenal has been closed by landslides.
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We found no official information on whether swimming in the lake is safe here. One travel guide advises against it.
What we don't know yet
- Lakeside park: who manages it, whether it charges for parking or entry, and its exact location.
- A description of the town's central park (no source describes it).
- Official timetable of the La Fortuna–Tilarán bus.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these sources. The date is when we checked them.
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Municipalidad de Tilarán — Distrito Arenal
Official
History of the relocation (1974 referendum, 330 houses by 1977) and the district's attractions.
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ICT — Mini guía La Fortuna (flipbook, p. 3)
Official
The ICT mini-guide includes visiting Lake Arenal among the free activities.
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Wikipedia — Nuevo Arenal
Wiki
Location on the northern shore, the old flooded village and a one-hour drive.
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Teletica (reportaje)
National media
Feature on the relocated town (2018).
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Costa Rica Vibes
Travel guide
Grassy lakeside park (pending verification) and a very winding road.
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OpenStreetMap — Arenal / Nuevo Arenal (nodo 332765169)
Map
Location of the town centre.
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Enrutador FOSSGIS/OSRM sobre datos de OpenStreetMap (routing.openstreetmap.de)
Map
Estimated driving distance from La Fortuna's central park.
Nearby
Arenal Dam (Sangregado Dam)
Dam and eastern lakeshore · 17.3 km · 21 min
The road to Nuevo Arenal and Tilarán runs over the dam that created today's Lake Arenal. From there you can see the reservoir and, on a clear day, the volcano behind it.