The National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) has been working in the past weeks in gathering the funds and organizing the work that could lead to a reopening of the Poas Volcano National Park to the tourists.

This park has been closed now for one year since it’s eruptive activity began on April 13, 2017; the closure of the park, which was the second most visited in Costa Rica, has resulted in considerable losses for SINAC (which reported in the first 7 months losses for almost $2 million), but also, and most concerning, for the locals that used to make a living from the tourism visiting the area which has declined considerably.

Now, as SINAC works on making the Park safe for visitation following the requirements established by the National Emergency Commission (CNE), one of the aspects to work on involves the “Controlled Access Management Plan for Visitation of the Poas Volcano National Park”; since the capacity of the Park to receive visits has to be reduced considerably. “The numbers we had prior to the closure show that we were receiving close to 400 thousand visitors a year. This number of visitors in an active volcano is not recommended. According to our projections we could bring this number down by almost half, with controlled access and by allowing access in groups”, explained Rafael Gutierrez, regional director of the Area of Conservation of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range.

The implementation of a digital system to buy the tickets ahead of time is one of the options being considered.

Work currently being done includes the installation of a gas measuring systems in the areas of public use and in the ranger stations; establishment of a space to be used as shelter for tourists in the event of a an eruption; placement of information signs regarding the situation; training of the rangers and personnel of the National Park on how to proceed in the event of an eruption, and, of course, the remodeling and repairing of different infrastructure in the park that was affected by the eruptions.

The Poas Volcano has remained in relative calm with just a constant gas column close to the crater.

The date in which the National Park will reopen has still not been confirmed but experts consider it could be by the end of June.