Costa Rica Guide
The Zona Norte
El Castillo
The idyllic mountain village of EL CASTILLO is all undulating hillsides covered with farmland and rainforest, and is home to Rancho Margot, one of the country's most exciting new eco-retreats. Blessed with dead-on volcano views, at the time of writing El Castillo was also the best place in the Arenal area to gawk at the volcano's southwesterly lava dribbles.
The turn-off for El Castillo is 15km west of La Fortuna (on the road to Arenal Town) and is marked by a police booth. The unpaved, bumpy road which heads eight kilometres east for El Castillo has for years kept the village off the traditional tourist trail, making it a welcome retreat from the buzzing commercial circus that is La Fortuna.