Cerro Chato Volcano Difficulty

I have read reports that this hike is hard, but I'd like to know how it compares to hiking the Corcovado. We just did the two day trek in the corcovado and found it to be not too difficult except for the heat. Has anyone done both?

Much easier, much nicer climate too...and hit the Hot Springs that night...

I looked at Google Maps. There's a trail on the east side of the volcano starting at Catarata Rio Fortuna ecological reserve: 560 m elevation gain, and less than 3 km, which is relatively easy; my estimate is as little as one hr for a fit hiker, but I don't know the condition of the trail.

Email the eco adventure lodges there, they will know.

Here's a fairly accurate description of the hike on Cerro Chato from the website http://www.arenal.net/tour/cerro-chato-hike/
"It’s possible to hike up Cerro Chato. Departing from the Arenal Observatory Lodge, which resides upon Chato’s western slope, the trail leads along a ridge and descends the eastern slope, exiting near the La Fortuna Waterfall. It’s a steep and sometimes muddy hike, and is thus only recommended for hikers in good physical condition. Once at the top, visitors can peer into the emerald pool that fills Chato’s hollowed crater; there are, however, certain minerals present in the water that make swimming inadvisable.
The route that begins near the Observatory Lodge and ends at the waterfall (which can also be done in the opposite direction) takes about 4-5 hours. Another option involves leaving from the waterfall and returning along the same route. That generally takes about 2 hours of steep climbing to get to the top and another hour to get back down.
There is an entrance fee of $8 per hiker if you wish to go without a guide."

I did it several years ago so the trail conditions may have changed. Its a half day hike. The first part is through the Observatory Lodge and you follow nice trails. Once you start up the volcano the trail is steep. And by steep I mean using tree roots as hand holds in places. If its raining it would be pretty messy. We booked a private ride to the hotel and paid the entrance fee to cross their property. When we paid the fee they gave us a not to scale map of how to get to the trail through their property. Once at the top there are two trails down to the lake. Take the second one. There were people swimming the day we went. The trail down to the waterfall was in better shape than the way up and not quite as steep. There is a parking lot at the bottom where you would have to pay if you started there. We were told just to keep walking straight through or you may end up paying them as well. We were part of a tour group and met the others at the waterfall so I don't know how easy it would be to arrange a ride back to town. If you can manage a two day hike you should be able to manage this unless you have problems with steep hills. Start early. Like most of Central America it often clouds over by afternoon.

So, we decided to go ahead and do this hike. It has a vibrant green lake at the top and a fantastic view of Arenal. The distance is 1500 feet of elevation gain, 3 miles round trip, not including the steepest part into the caldera, and took us about 4 hours. It was a steep, rooted challenge with lots of hand and feet scrambling and big drops. It was also one of the most fun hikes I've been on, and was totally worth it.

Thanks for that report. Were the elevation gain and distance from a GPS that tracked your hiking route?

No GPS, but there were signs along the way. We converted to miles and did a little math to double check the distance :)

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