San José and the Central Valley

The Central Valley is the country's heart, wrapped around the capital and framed by cultivated slopes and accessible volcanoes. San José, at around 1,170 metres, concentrates the nation's cultural life, from the Gold and Jade museums to the neoclassical National Theatre and its lively central market. Within a couple of hours rise three volcanoes, including Poás with its vast crater and Irazú, the highest in the country at 3,432 metres. The Orosi valley adds colonial churches, coffee estates and the orchid-rich Lankester gardens, while Guayabo protects the most important pre-Columbian site in Costa Rica. Coffee is everywhere, and a finca visit follows the bean from plant to cup. For most travellers, this is where a Costa Rican trip begins and ends, near the international airport.