Central Valley

As we all know, most of the visitors that come to our country are fascinated by its nature, the possibilities of wildlife sightings, and the astonishing number of climates, landscapes, and activities that the country offers in a short range of space.

However, a visit to this urban region will prove a necessary experience to see the culture, understand the history, and appreciate the country even more.

The Central Valley holds the four most important cities: San José, -the capital city-, Alajuela, Heredia, and on the far eastern side, Cartago.

One really fun thing to do is to visit the local (farmer) markets and buy great fresh tropical fruit and vegetables.

You will also find small food stands in which you can often buy delicious cheese empanadas, Gallo Pinto, and for example Picadillo de Papa.

San José it’s a small city, that at times seems to be quite chaotic.

With a relatively small population living in its heart, it is surrounded by a great ring of suburbs where most people live.

A million people pass by San José every day, and the city is full of bus stops on its main streets, which are like all colonial cities from the Americas, relatively narrow.

Unfortunately, in San José, you will not find any of the formidable architecture that you find in other areas of the continent, as its population was always small and the country rather poor.

However, the city has created several recreational places in the past decades, slowly turning it into a walking city with spaces for biking and multiple parks with exuberant vegetation.

You find several iconic buildings like the National Theatre, the Metallic School, the Congress, and several remarkable museums that hold jade, gold, and pottery pre-Columbian collections right in the city center.

Together with contemporary and ancient Costa Rican art.

The surrounding cities have grown in population. You may find many accommodations from 5-star chain hotels (That offer all the luxury and comfort that any of these usually offer worldwide), fancy bed and breakfasts, quaint family hotels, and smaller hostels.

You can enjoy several memorable experiences from the Central Valley as it is surrounded by significantly protected rain and cloud forests. It is quite close to some of the main adventure attractions, breathtaking volcanoes, forest-surrounded waterfalls, coffee tours, birding walks, and even trips to see whales and dolphins in the nearby Pacific Ocean.