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About Guanacaste:
Beautiful beaches,
fascinating national parks and a variety of activities, including
world-class fishing and diving, awaits visitors to this largest
province of Costa Rica.
Traveling
from the Central Valley to Guanacaste is an almost surreal
experience. The steep and winding roads gradually become flattCosta
Ricaer and straighter, and the lush, humid plant-life becomes
sparser and drier. The mountains that before hemmed you in
on both sides now become relegated to the distant horizon,
replaced by vast, open lowlands ("bajura")
Costa RicaOriginally
part of Nicaragua, Nicoya region was annexed to Costa Rica
by popular vote on July 25,1824 and although it is very much
a part of the country, it is distinctive not only in its terrain,
but also in its culture.
The perfect
time to visit Guanacaste is, luckily enough, year-round. The
dry season affords the serious sun worshipper with plenty
of tanning time, while the "green season" brings
the trees into bloom with explosions of color and fragrances.
Return to:
General hotel list
Guanacaste hotel
list
Guanacaste map
Available tours
in this area:
Arenal Volcano
& Hot Springs
Barra Honda Caves Expedition
Canopy Adventure
Corobici River Floating Expedition
Heliconias Rain Forest & Hanging Bridges
Horseback Riding Tour
Monteverde Cloud Forest Adventure
Palo Verde Nature Cruise
Rincon de la Vieja Adventure
Santa Rosa Park Natural History & Cultural
Tenorio Rafting (III-IV)
Turtle Nesting Tour
Some Facts
Size: 10,141 km2
Population : 220,000
Coordinates: 10º, 28',29" north and 85º, 21',
37" west
Borders: North: Nicaragua; East: Alajuela; West: Pacific Ocean
Capital: Liberia
Km from Liberia to San José: 203 km
Annextion: 1825
Cantón 1: Liberia
Cantón 2: Nicoya
Cantón 3: Santa Cruz
Cantón 4: Bagaces
Cantón 5: Carrillo
Cantón 6: Cañas
Cantón 7: Abangares
Cantón 8: Tilarán
Cantón 9: Nandayure
Cantón 10: La Cruz
Cantón 11: Hojancha
The Cantones of Guanacaste ! |
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History:
The pre-Columbian inhabitants of Guanacaste are
noted for the fine quality pottery that they produced.
The variety of ceramic vessels found at archeological
sites has led investigators to theorize the existence
of a well-developed system of agriculture, and specifically
grain production. The fact that as yet no evidence of
hunter-gather societies has been unearthed in the region,
has been a motive for speculating that the first humans
to settle here already possessed a working knowledge
of agriculture.
Indeed,
the native peoples living in the area at the time of
the Spaniards' arrival in 1519, the Chorotega tribe,
were a group whose ancestors had emigrated south from
Mexico. When Hernán Ponce de León and
Juan de Castañeda sailed into what is now known
as the Gulf of Nicoya on the last leg of their
exploratory voyage from Panama, the name of the regional
chieftan was Nicoya. Thus, the origin of the name of
both the gulf and the peninsula.
During
the first two decades of the Spanish Conquest in this
region, the invaders established a lucrative trade:
the sale of human slaves to Panama and Peru. This activity,
together with untold deaths resulting from disease,
decimated the local population.
Spanish
settlement of Guanacaste was slow since most of the
colonization from 1563 onwards was concentrated in the
Central Valley and there was very little native labor
force left in the lowlands to be employed in farming
activities. The Spaniards brought in zambos, a mixed
race of escaped black slaves and indigenous people from
eastern Nicaragua and Honduras, to help work the haciendas
in Guanacaste, but even so the population was too low
to sustain much agricultural production. And so, cattle
ranching developed as the most common activity in the
region due to the low manpower requirements.
In
the 1500's and 1600's, the primary revenue from cattle
ranching was the sale of leather and fat to merchants
in Panama. By the 18th century, a market for beef existed
in Guatemala, but this meant a long and difficult cattle
drive from the faraway ranches in Costa Rica. Nevertheless,
ranching has persisted to the present day and was given
a real economic boost in the 1950's and '60's with the
development of the "hamburger connection" and North
America's increased demand for cheap beef.
The
other agricultural products of relative importance in
the province are sugar cane and cotton, and since the
late 1980's, with the creation of a large-scale irrigation
program (the water comes from Lake
Arenal after passing through several power generating
stations), rice has become a prominent crop. Tourism,
of course, is currently the region's most lucrative
activity since Guanacaste is blessed by having many
of the country's most beautiful beaches and its sun-drenched
dry season coincides with the winter months in northern
latitudes.
During
colonial times, Guanacaste did not actually form part
of the province of Costa Rica, but instead pertained
to Nicaragua. Shortly after the nations in the region
gained their independence from Spain in 1821, the residents
of the communities of Nicoya, Santa Cruz, and Cañas
decided that they preferred to become part of Costa
Rica and announced their annexation on July 25, 1825.
This date is commemorated by a government holiday, even
though it was not until 1858 that the change in boundary
lines was officially recognized and agreed upon by the
two countries involved.
Climate:
The
weather throughout the province of Guanacaste is characterized
by being hot with well-defined wet and dry seasons.
The one exception is the highland portion of the province
which consists of the upper Pacific-facing slopes of
the volcanoes in the Guanacaste Cordillera and the northern
half of the Tilarán Cordillera. The cool, moist
conditions along these ridges support luxuriant cloud
forests. Elsewhere, the natural vegetation type originally
found in Guanacaste is (was) tropical dry forest.
This
kind of forest extends from parts of Mexico down the
western side of Central America to Costa Rica, where
it reaches its southern limit in the general area of
the Carara
Biological Reserve. Due to the pronounced dry season
that affects this habitat type for at least six months
out of every year, fire works very well as a land clearing
tool, and hence, most of the original forests have long
since been removed for agricultural activities, principally
cattle ranching. Thus, the noted tropical biologist,
Dr. Daniel Janzen has described the Mesoamerican dry
forests as "an endangered habitat." The parks and reserves
in Guanacaste protect much of the remaining examples
of tropical dry forest in the entire region.
The
annual dry season is caused by the effects of the northeast
trade winds that blow in off the Caribbean from November
through March. This humid air loses its moisture as
it crosses the Caribbean lowlands and the cordilleras.
Given that the Guanacaste Cordillera is both the lowest
and narrowest in the country, there is little to block
the passage of the arid air that comes gusting down
the western slopes drying out everything in its path,
as well as preventing any breezes from bringing in moist
air from the Pacific Ocean during these months.
When
the trade winds shift northward, air currents once again
bring humidity and life-giving rains in from the Pacific
Ocean. It is remarkable to observe how quickly the parched
and brown countryside regains its verdant appearance
after the first showers of each new rainy season. In
Guanacaste, these afternoon showers usually return by
mid-May and continue until about mid-November.
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National
Parks:
1)
Isla
Bolaños Biological Reserve
2) Santa
Rosa National Park
3) Guanacaste
National Park
4)
Rincón
de la Vieja National Park
5)
Barra
Honda National Park
6) Palo
Verde National Park
7)
Lomas
Barbudal Biological Reserve
8) Las
Baulas Marine National Park
9) Tamarindo
National Wildlife Refuge
10)
Ostional
National Wildlife Refuge
Other
Points of Interest:
1)
Lake Arenal: This natural depression caused by local geological
faults formerly contained a small lake that emptied into the
Arenal River which flowed into the Caribbean via the San Carlos
and San Juan Rivers. However, in the 1970's, the Costa Rican
Electric Company (I.C.E.) began construction of what is currently
the country's largest hydroelectric generating project.
An earthen dam was built only seven kilometers to the west
of Arenal Volcano--that had erupted violently just a few years
earlier. As the waters filled up behind the dam a thirty-kilometer
long lake was formed. Water from the lake is tunneled to the
Pacific side of the country, passing through three turbine-driven
generating stations, before being channeled into a system
of irrigation canals that have substantially increased the
agricultural productivity of the lower Tempisque basin in
Guanacaste.
As well as its importance for energy and agriculture, Lake
Arenal provides excellent recreational opportunities, especially
for windsurfing and freshwater fishing. The northwestern end
of the lake is buffeted by strong winds, particularly from
December through March, that make for ideal windsurfing conditions.
Fishing for guapote (Cichlasoma dovii), often referred
to as "rainbow bass" even though it is not related to bass,
is another popular sport on the lake. The season is open year-round
(on this lake only) and there is a limit of 10 fish per day.
Daytime temperatures around the lake are pleasant all year
long and evenings tend to be cool. The driest months are March
and April. Lake Arenal is reached via the same roads that
lead to Arenal
National Park.
2) Geothermal Power Plant (Miravalles Volcano)
3) Eco-museum
(Las Juntas): In the early part of the 20th century, gold
mining was an important activity along the Pacific foothills
of the Tilarán Mountains. Discovered in 1884, the mines
near Las Juntas de Abangares were eventually sold to the North
American entrepreneur, Minor C. Keith, the same person who
built the railroad between San José and Limón.
In their heyday, the mines employed nearly a thousand workers,
but were also the scene of a violent labor dispute in 1911.
The Eco-museum
was developed around the ruins of one of the oldest gold mines
in the region where some of the old machinery, hand tools,
and infrastructure can still be seen. The surrounding area
is forested to a large extent and provides good opportunities
for birdwatching and other nature observation.
The town
of Las Juntas de Abangares is located 6 km. northeast of the
PanAmerican Highway (the turnoff is 24 km south of Cañas).
Drive through the town and follow the signs for the "Eco-museo",
about 2 km. farther on. The museum is open from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Phone: 662-0129 (in
the Municipal Offices of Las Juntas).
4) Indigenous
crafts manufacturing in the town of Guaitil: Continuing
a tradition that predates the Spanish settlement of Guanacaste,
the descendants of the Chorotega tribe living in the village
of Guaitil still produce fine quality pottery. Having changed
with the times, much the way the oxcart manufacturers of Sarchí
have, the ceramic ware made in Guaitil is now destined
mostly for the souvenir trade and is not so much a matter
of creating vessels for daily usage. Nonetheless, it is still
interesting to observe the process of making and decorating
the variety of earthenware products.
To reach
the village of Guaitil, take the road out of Santa Cruz to
the east past the town of Santa Barbara (about 10 km.).
5) Cowboy
Museum (Liberia): Known in Spanish as El Museo del
Sabanero, the Cowboy Museum is a tribute to the hard-working
plainsmen of yesteryear that are such an important part of
Guanacaste's past and tradition. The museum showcases all
sorts of memorabilia from old photographs to chaps and branding
irons, and gives an insight into what life was like on the
haciendas in times gone by. Located
3 blocks south and one block east of the Municipal Building
in Liberia, the museum shares space with the Liberia Cultural
Center in a restored adobe house that was originally built
more than 100 years ago. Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m., and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
Phone: 666-1606.
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