Discover with us one of the most important and beautiful regions of Costa Rica. For those seeking the advantages of a city style vacation, the central valley offers a great variety of tourist attractions. Also, due to the size of the country, anyone can go practically everywhere in one day, allowing
visitors to experience almost all wonders of Costa Rica from the comfort of the city. The one day tours that can be enjoyed from this area operate daily with regular departures from the main hotels of San Jose, each one providing the three main components of the magic of Costa Rica: its varied natural wealth, the friendliness of the Costa Ricans, and its tropical flavor.
Chirripo National Park, one of the Costa Rica’s unique places is just 20 km northeast of San Isidro de El General in the capital. Chirripo, besides its tremendous landscape, has the most exclusive Costa Rica weather as you get there really low temperatures you won’t find in any other place in the country.
Inside the park, there are areas of life as the paramo, cloud forest and humid. Chirripo has the country's highest mountain, Mount Chirripo with 3,820 meters above sea level. The legend says the firs expedition there was made in 1904 by some of the local Indians. Since then, the expeditions became more frequent, including Costa Rica All Inclusive tours that now take you there.
At the top of the park, there are 5 major geological, biological and natural beauty areas: the Sabana de Los Leones, Rabbit Valley, Cerro Chirripo, Moraine Valley and the Valley of the Lakes
If you haven’t bought a guided tour of costa rica and you want to get to the Chirripo Park, you need to take a bus from San to San Isidro de El General. Hence can take a shuttle to San Gerardo de Rivas (5 am and 2 pm), a small town where you can find cabins, cheap hotels and restaurants. The park entrance is at the end of the village.
Once you buy your ticket at the entrance to have one of the most beautiful Costa Rica travel, there are two routes to get to the Crestones: the main trail that goes from San Gerardo Based Crestones and Uran Trail, which you must climb with a help of a Herradura community guide guide.
The ideal time to visit the Chirripo is during the dry season from December to May. It is not a good idea to go during the rainy season; be sure to check out the Costa Rica Weather Forecast to have a sense when it’s better for you; the rainy season goes from June to November.
Keep in mind camping is allowed near the Cerro Uran, 8 miles Base Crestones shelter.
Located less than one hour from the historic Caribbean town of Port of Limón and 2:45 hours from the city of San José. It is surrounded by 100% Rainforest. The park is a buffer zone for La Amistad International Park ("Friendship International Park"), which is shared by Costa Rica and Panamá. Immerse yourself in 1300 hectares (3400 acres) of tropical rainforest while relishing breathtaking views of endless mountains. Enjoy the world´s largest nocturnal-ambience frog habitat; delve deep into the forest on diverse walking trails and through the canopy level on an aerial tram or a zipline ("canopy tour"), admiring the sights and sounds of wild flora and fauna; feel the thunder of a spectacular waterfall almost at your fingertips; and learn at Veragua Biological Research Station, where you can see researchers discovering new species! The park has a restaurant, a coffee shop, a souvenir shop and full accessible trails.
Located in Horquetas de Sarapiqui, only one and half hours from San Jose, visitors can enjoy one of the most complete and interesting adventure activities operated close to the city. This tour includes three fun adventures: tubing down a river, horseback riding and the canopy tour. Lunch is included.
Nature & living culture! Besides learning about the rural life in San Antonio de Escazú, you will admire the majestic mountains that surround Escazú. The guide will take you along a beautiful hike of approximately 2 ½ back and forth along the Escazú mountains. At El Mirador del Valle, enjoy impressive views of the mountains and the Central Valley, while you enjoy a refreshment. Part of the adventure along the mountain will be to have a short ox-cart ride overlooking the valley of San José. Along the hike, the guide will share information on the flora and fauna of the area and the way of life, as well as the legends of Escazú. Then continue the journey to the masquerade's workshop, where you will get to meet Don Gerardo Montoya, the grandson of the legendary Pedro Arias, one of the first Costa Ricans to introduce masquerades in the Central Valley. You will witness the process of making masquerades, and try to make them on our own. After this, will head to La Cuevita de Zárate, to enjoy a delicious traditional meal prepared by the associates. Here, you will also learn about the efforts that CODECE has made in order to conserve the mountains of Escazú. After lunch, tour continues to the traditional sugar mill of Don Torino, who will explain the process of making sweets out of sugar cane. Overall, it will be an unforgettable experience in the picturesque village of San Antonio de Escazú. Included: guide, hike in Escazu Mountains, entrance to the sugar mill, mask maker´s workshop, traditional lunch, fresh fruits, water.
The Central Valley
