National archeological park of Guayabo de Turrialb

Costa Rica’s Tentative List has only one entry, so for the second time I will review one of its FTWHS as they are the country’s best cultural sites. The Guayabo National Monument is its most important archaeological park. It comprises a settlement created by one of the local pre-Columbian chiefdoms; it flourished between 1000 - 1400 AD. Guayabo has been designated as International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark for its extensive roadways and water supply system.

I arrived by car from the north, from San José via road #230. It’s only 80km but it will take easily 2 hours because of the winding roads and pedestrians/cyclists on the road. The Guayabo National Monument is well signposted almost directly after you leave San José. 95% of the route is covered by an excellent asphalt road, but at the end there is an unpaved stretch of five kilometers. It’s not too bad, but I was happy that I rented a car with high clearance. On the way out by the way I took the southern loop (via route #415) and that one is fully paved.

Guayabo is quite a popular attraction with the locals, of which several dozens showed up on the Sunday that I visited. Payment at the entrance is by credit card only (5 USD for foreigners). The site is located in a nice patch of rainforest and I enjoyed being in the tropical nature again.

On the way to the partly excavated ruins of the settlement you’ll …

I would like to add a less general information to my initial account, made years ago. By that time, I hadn't visited the site in some 10 years.

I'm back on visiting different sites of Costa Rica and I made an almost incidental visit on Guayabo on October 12th (an unplanned homage to the initial contact between the native american and indigenous worlds). I did also a lot of photographing, which I hadn't done on my 2 or 3 previous visits. I think I got some really good shots. The area, not just the archaeological area, but the rural environment, the natural heritage, and the landscapes are worth photographing.

On the access, it's relatively easy for a country mostly covered by bus lines. By car, you have three possible routes. By bus, the two first options imply a 8 km-walk to the monument, on gravel road, that to be honest, I think that doesn't need a 4-wheel-traction, because it is in very good conditions, even in the middle of the rainy season. And the second, you get by bus right to the entrance of the park, but lose most of the charm that the other routes have.

The first route: You go from Cartago to Pacayas and Santa Cruz de Turrialba, then turn left 8 km and you get to the national monument. It's more mountainous and kind of windy, but you'll get a really good appreciation of what the traditional countryside is. Plus, you'll pass through enchanting towns (Cipreses, …

This is really worth a visit when you come to Costa Rica. It is almost unique not only because the indigenous communities in Costa Rica did not create sites not even far as grand as the ones created in northern Central America or Mexico, but also because in this country there has not been an adequate protection to archaeological remains, it happens the same as historic buildings, if a private owner finds some archaeological remain in the lot he is planning to build a supermarket, a hotel, a plantation, a road or anywhere else, quickly and silently bulldozes it before the archaeologists of the National Museum appear. Guayabo could have suffered the same destiny because it is located in a very fertile area in Turrialba highlands, eastern Cartago province, but late archaeologist Carlos Aguilar Piedra started back in the 60s regular excavations and campaigned to protect the site, already sacked and vandalized. As a site, it is small (4 ha), but the excavations have come just to the point that the government owns and it is believed that the site extends up to 15 or 20 ha.

The site culturally belongs to the intermediate zone, influenced primarily by the Chibchas and other cultures to the south, but having contact through Guanacaste to the Mesoamerican cultures.

The main features of Guayabo are the mounds that indicate through their size, height and location, the importance of the character that lived there on the mound. The houses were made of wood and organic …