The Central Valley offers a variety of tourist, cultural, and natural attractions, including Costa Rica’s best museums: the Gold, Jade, Costa Rican Art, La Salle Natural Science, University of Costa Rica Insect, and Children’s Contemporary Art and Design Museums. In addition, this region is home to the architectural jewel of Costa Rica: the National Theater. All of these are located in the country’s capital. The national parks located in the Valley—Poás, Braulio Carrillo, Irazú, and Turrialba—protect the region’s main volcanoes. All have road infrastructure so that visitors can enjoy the birds, natural landscapes, crater, and forests.


The country’s capital, San José, is truly the heart of all political, geographical, and economical aspects of Costa Rica. However, the provincial capitals—Alajuela, Heredia, and Cartago—offer a variety of quality commercial and tourism services. As a tourism zone, the Central Valley features two extraordinarily beautiful areas that are true tourist destinations: Turrialba and the Valley of Los Santos. The rural towns, for their part, are highly picturesque, and offer a glimpse of old Costa Rica, with their houses of bahareque (a building material similar to adobe but made of cattle dung and straw), large coffee plantations, sugar mills, and dairy farming.

BRAULIO CARRILLO NATIONAL PARK
This park is located northeast of the Central Valley in the Central Mountain Range, between the massifs of Poás and Irazú volcanoes. Covering more than 44,000 hectares (109,000 Acres), Braulio Carrillo is one of the largest protected areas in Costa Rica. Several extinct volcanoes have been identified: Chompipe, at 2,259 m. (7,400 ft.) tall; Turu, at 2,139 m. (7,000 ft.); Cerro Cacho Negro, at 2,250 m. (7,380 ft.); and Barva, which has several craters collectively known as Tres Marías with an average height of 1,725 m. (5,700 ft.). Visitor services include information, a park ranger station, trails, restrooms, drinking water, signage, and several natural viewpoints.

NATIONAL THEATER
Built in 1890, thanks to funds collected through import taxes paid by a wide sector of small coffee growers and the official patronage of 19th  century coffee barons. The National Theater houses priceless Italian art pieces. It is still in good condition after 100 years. Being the pride of Costa Ricans, the Theater remains the center of the country’s main cultural, artistic, and political activities. It was declared a National Monument in 1965.

POAS VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK
Rising 2,708 meters above sea level, this volcano features two craters: the main one -1.5 km (1 mile) in diameter and 300 m (1,000 Ft.) deep; and Laguna Botos, a cold, rain-fed lake that feeds the Río Angel, a tributary of the Río Sarapiquí that flows into the Caribbean. Currently, the volcano emits a great quantity of gases and steam from the various fumaroles located in the crater’s inner cone. Visitor services include information, a park ranger station, trails, restrooms, drinking water, signage, a cafeteria, souvenir shop, and several natural viewpoints.

IRAZU VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK
This park protects colossal Irazú Volcano on the Central Volcanic Mountain Range and it rises 3,432 meters (11,256 feet) above sea level, the highest volcano in Costa Rica. This active volcano has a long history of eruptions and eruptive cycles. The protected area’s many geological features include the Playa Hermosa, Principal, and Diego de la Haya craters .The Sapper formation is the highest point in this massif, from which both Caribbean and Pacific coasts may be seen. Visitor services include information, a park ranger station, trails, restrooms, signage, a cafeteria, parking, and several natural viewpoints.

MELICO SALAZAR THEATER
The Melico Salazar Theater is housed in a building that has been declared of Historical and Architectural Interest. Its purpose is to promote the artistic expression of popular culture, and to provide access to its shows to the broadest possible sector of the population.

SARCHI
Characterized as Costa Rica’s “cradle of wooden handicrafts”, Sarchí offers a variety of high-quality work. Skilled artisans work their raw materials in front of visitors to create beautiful pieces, such as the famed traditional hand-painted oxcarts, the region’s signature product.

OROSI
The town of Orosí (the third district of Paraíso) is located in a dip in the Central Valley; 40 km (25 miles) from the capital, 16 km (10 miles) from the city of Cartago, and 8 km (5 miles) from Paraíso. It has one of the prettiest drives outside of San Jose. Draws are hot springs, waterfalls, trout-fishing ponds, and coffee plantations. Orosí is a deep and humid valley at 1,051 m (3,450 ft.) above sea level, surrounded by hills and lush vegetation. It has a lookout that offers a spectacular view of the valley, and boasts the oldest colonial church in Costa Rica. You can also find a Religious Art Museum there, next to the town church.

There are many tourist activities for you to enjoy in this region, involving culture, adventure, or nature.

SUGAR MILLS
One of the Costa Rica’s most traditional images is the ox-or water-powered sugar mills. Sugar cane is processed in these sites and then turned into solid blocks of brown sugar that are later used in beverages and desserts. Most of the ox-powered mills are located in rural areas such as Piedades Norte, Bajos of La Paz, and San Ramón of Alajuela. Water-powered mills can be found in San Antonio of Escazú, Jaris of Mora, and Grecia.

MUSEUMS
The most culturally and historically diverse selection of museums in the country is located in this region, including the National Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Children’s Museum, Museum of Costa Rican Art, Gold Museum, Popular Culture Museum, Juan Santamaría Museum, Orosí Museum, Entomological Museum, La Salle Museum, Jade Museum, and others.

TRAIN RIDE TO THE PACIFIC
Tourists can take the train from San José to the Pacific on the “Paseo en Tren a la Tica” departing for Caldera every Saturday and Sunday at six am. During “winter” (May to November) the trains runs to the peaceful town of Atenas, up to the Escuela de Ganaderia (School of Animal Husbandry).

TREETOP AND TRAIL ADVENTURES
Several companies and organizations have developed facilities for visitors to enjoy adventure activities on nature trails and in the forest canopy: INBIO in Santo Domingo de Heredia; the Central American Livestock Farming School in Balsa de Atenas; the TURU BA-RI Tropical Park in Turrubares, and the Butterfly Garden in the outskirts of Varablanca.

PLANT AND WILDLIFE OBSERVATION
Visitors can observe nature and wildlife in several public protected areas, such as Braulio Carrillo, Poás Volcano, and Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte, as well as in the Lancaster Botanical Garden, the Simon Bolívar Zoo, the Santa Ana National Zoo, and the zoo in La Garita of Alajuela. Added to these, a few theme parks offer enjoyable experiences with nature.