North America
Central America
Costa Rica

Central Valley

's Central Valley is the most populated region of the country; the capital city, San José, is there and so is the Juan Santamaría airport. The Central Valley includes charming small towns, towering volcanoes, and dense jungle landscapes like the huge .
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Photo: The LEAF Project, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include San José and Alajuela.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is the capital and largest city of . The undisputed cultural and economic center of Costa Rica's central valley, where most of the population lives, is also the most important transportation hub for domestic travel even though the international airport is in .

Photo: Bernal Saborio, CC BY-SA 2.0.
is a city in the Central Valley of , near . It is not to be confused with Province, which extends north from the city of to .

Photo: Rquesada, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The region of the Central Valley of Costa Rica offers much for the visitor in downtown , and in many of the towns around , particularly in the north mountains, like Barva, San Rafael, San Isidro, where there are many coffee plantations and fresh air year round.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Turrialba and San Ramon.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.5.
is in the Central Valley region of . is a base for adventure tourism and is home to some of the best whitewater rafting in Central America.

Photo: Bigmacthealmanac, CC BY-SA 4.0.
San Ramón is a small town of about 7,700 people in the Central Valley. It is a mountainous area surrounded by cloud forests including privately held reserves such as the El Cocoro and El Silencio de los Angeles cloud forests.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.
is an inviting small town to the west of in the province of . It is mountainous with verdant forests and nearby coffee plantations and farms.

Photo: Rodtico21, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a district of the canton, in the province of . Its urban area is referred as city.

Photo: Sjohnson301, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a in , , and , in central . It is part of the Central Conservation Area.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a large protected tropical rainforest in the mountains of 's Central Valley. It is a magnet for eco-tourism, providing habitat for more than 400 species of birds, almost 50 mammal species.

Photo: Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0.
is a village in on the border between the provinces of Puntarenas and Alajuela. It is a popular base camp for eco travelers and backpackers because it lies next to some spectacular rainforests and rugged mountain hiking areas.

Photo: TourVirtualCostaRica, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a good sized park that provides critical bird habitat in the Central Valley of . It is a mountainous area with forests and rain forest and is a good place for hiking and birdwatching.

Photo: Dick Culbert, CC BY 2.0.
is a mountainous rainforest southeast of , the capital of . It is a large, remote wilderness that is popular among naturalists and bird watchers who come to the park to see a large population of the reclusive…

Central Valley

Latitude of center
9.8667° or 9° 52′ north
Longitude of center
-84.2167° or 84° 13′ west
Wiki­data ID
Q1879771
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
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Satellite Map

Discover Central Valley from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Basque to Spanish—“Central Valley” goes by many names.
  • Basque: “Erdiko Harana (Costa Rica)”
  • Basque: “Erdiko Harana”
  • Catalan: “Vall Central”
  • Czech: “Centrální údolí (Kostarika)”
  • Czech: “Centrální údolí”
  • Dutch: “Valle Central”
  • Esperanto: “Kostarika Centra Valo”
  • French: “vallée Centrale”
  • French: “Vallée Centrale”
  • Hebrew: “העמק המרכזי של קוסטה ריקה”
  • Italian: “Valle centrale della Costa Rica”
  • Italian: “Valle Centrale”
  • Japanese: “コスタリカ中央渓谷”
  • Lithuanian: “Kosta Rikos centrinis slėnis”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Valle Central”
  • Norwegian: “Valle Central”
  • Polish: “Valle Central”
  • Russian: “Центральная долина (Коста-Рика)”
  • Russian: “Центральная долина”
  • Slovenian: “Osrednje podolje”
  • Spanish: “Valle Central”

Costa Rica: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Puerto Limón, Liberia, La Fortuna, and Corcovado National Park.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Central Valley”. Photo: The LEAF Project, CC BY-SA 2.0.