La Fortuna is a rural city located in San Carlos, in the province of Alajuela, Costa Rica.
La Fortuna received its name after the eruption of the Arenal Volcano in 1968. La Fortuna was originally called "El Borio" before the day of the eruption. In 1968, the Arenal Volcano erupted to the east, killing all in its path, including two villages. El Burio (La Fortuna) was located on the west side of the volcano and was untouched. After the eruption of the volcano, El Borio was renamed "La Fortuna", which means "the fortunate", referring to the towns luckiness during the eruption.
La Fortuna has the airport which is nearest to the Arenal Volcano, though many visitors also arrive via automobile, to the resorts and hotels in La Fortuna, Castillo, Palma, Monteverde, or Tilaran. Arenal is often cited by scientists as being in the top ten or top 20 of the world's most active volcanoes.[1] La Fortuna is less than 10 km from the peak of Arenal and less than 20 km from the entrance to Arenal Volcano National Park (the entrance is west of the peak, whereas La Fortuna is east of the peak).
Other than the volcano, La Fortuna has tourist attractions such as the La Catarata de la Fortuna, a waterfall that falls from a height of 70 meters, several resorts with natural hot springs temperate enough to bathe in, other day spa services, and day-trips which involve horseback riding, whitewater rafting, hanging bridges, a "sky tram," zip-lines, mountain bike, kayak, stand-up paddleboard, and ATV or dirt bike rentals, "butterfly farm" and Venado Cavern tours, bungee jumping, Laguna Cedeno, El Salto Swimming Hole, and canyoneering.
La Fortuna has a medic station but serious injuries require a medivac (or long travel on roadways), a police station (and another is on the way to El Tapon), gas station, 3 banks, 3 groceries, restaurants (in addition to those in the resorts), post office, and hardware store.
