Description
Lot in Guanacaste with partial views of Lake and Arenal Volcano, located in a prime area that combines natural tranquility with easy access to towns, services, and outdoor activities. The land offers ideal topography for building a luxury home, eco-retreat, or vacation project, with a pleasant climate year-round and stunning scenery. An excellent opportunity to live or invest in one of Costa Rica's most attractive and fastest-growing regions.
The closest town is Tronadora, Lake Arenal:
- The area now known as Tronadora was first documented in 1909 as people from other regions of Costa Rica (like Sabanilla and Sarchí) began settling here, attracted by fertile lands and better opportunities than the crowded Central Valley offered at the time.
- The name Tronadora likely comes from a nearby river that made a loud “thundering” sound during heavy rains, as rocks and wood collided in its waters.
Old Tronadora & Arenal
- Before Lake Arenal was expanded, there were established towns called Viejo Tronadora and Viejo Arenal along the shores of the natural lake. These were farming and cattle communities with churches, schools, local businesses, and a close-knit social life.
- The area was shaped by nature — including eruption events from Arenal Volcano in 1968 and significant earthquakes in the early 1970s — events that brought challenges to the local people.
Creation of Lake Arenal & Resettlement
- In the mid-1970s, Costa Rica’s national electricity company (ICE) began planning the Arenal hydroelectric project, one of the country’s most ambitious public works projects at the time.
- To build the dam and expand the lake into a large reservoir (completed in 1979), the original towns of Tronadora and Arenal were relocated to higher ground. Residents were offered new homes in Nuevo Tronadora and Nuevo Arenal or could accept compensation to move elsewhere.
- As the lake filled, the old townsites became submerged underwater — and during very low water levels today, ruins of those former communities can sometimes re-emerge.
Lake Arenal Today
- The larger Lake Arenal is now the largest lake in Costa Rica, created by the Sangregado Dam, and remains central to the region’s identity.
- It became a cornerstone for Costa Rica’s renewable energy (originally generating a very large share of the country’s electricity) and supports local agriculture, tourism, and outdoor activities.
Modern Tronadora
- The Nuevo Tronadora community thrives today along the western shore of Lake Arenal. It blends agricultural traditions with growing tourism and international interest, especially from people drawn to the lake and volcano environment.
