At 3,820 metres, Cerro Chirripó is the highest point in Costa Rica and the highest peak in Central America south of Guatemala. The standard route from San Gerardo de Rivas covers about 20 kilometres each way and gains 2,300 metres of elevation — a serious mountain hike, not a casual walk.
Most people take two days for the ascent. The overnight shelter, Crestones Base Camp, sits at 3,400 metres and provides basic dormitory accommodation, cooking facilities, and blankets. Nights at altitude are genuinely cold — bring layers even if the lowlands are sweltering. You can book the shelter through the national park service online; do this weeks in advance, as daily entries are capped at 60 hikers.
Start as early as possible — 3am is not unusual — to reach the summit before clouds build in the mid-morning. The upper mountain is páramo grassland and glacial lagoons; the landscape is nothing like the rest of Costa Rica. In the right conditions, the view from the top takes in both coasts.