If you plan to visit the Irazu volcano you might want to stop by Prusia. This place is ideal for those who want to enjoy of a hiking experience during their visit to the Cartago area.

This park has 8 different trails with 3 levels of difficulty, which together make up a distance of 16 kilometers through the forest.

You will find yourself around beautiful nature and will be able to spot many different birds.

How to visit Prusia sector?

Is important to know that you must get your entry tickets online at the Sinac website:

https://www.sinac.go.cr/ES/resvlinea/Paginas/default.

You must create a user to be able to make a reservation, but this will be useful as you will use this site to reserve other National Parks as well.

We recommend you visit Prusia after the Irazu volcano, the last time to get into the park is at 3:00pm, but keep in mind that you will have to exit the park by 3:30pm. So going early will be your best bet to have plenty of time to enjoy your day.

I must say this park is very well maintain and well marked. At the entrance you will be at 8,792 feet and will be able to ascend to 11,154 feet.

What to pack for Prusia?

I definitely recommend you to bring a sweater, as you get warm up by the hike you might not need it. But should be prepared as the altitude can be very chilly. You must bring comfortable hiking shoes, water bottle and a snack, even though picnics are not allowed inside the park you can bring in something to munch on like an energy bar or a fruit.

A good pair of binoculars would be a plus on this park, as you will be able to spot many different birds along the way.

How to get to the witched tree?

One of the attractions of the forest is the famous “witched tree”. The name is due to the fact that once one of the visitors left a figure of a “little witch” hanging from the tree and later other people continued placing other objects, although today the tree does not keep any if them and it is totally clean, the tree remains this name because of its characteristics of mystical aspect.

To get to this tree you must take the El Roble trail, continue along the El Puma trail and finally the Los Abuelos trail. It is important that when entering the park you take a picture of the map so that you can continue to be guided throughout the tour.

Here you can visit other attractions such as: Cerro Retes, one of the highest points where you can see the slopes of the Irazú volcano. On the other hand, there is Cerro Cabeza de Vaca that has a view of the Barva volcano, Laguna del Reventado, among others.

So if you are coming to the Cartago area consider staying a couple of nights and visit Prusia, the Irazu volcano and if you have a little more time El Sanatorio Duran