Turrialba, a little farming town in the Cartago province is a wonderful place for visitors get a sense of the small town Costa Rican charm. Mostly known for agriculture and textiles, it’s popularity as a tourist destination is growing with authentic local experiences, outdoor adventure, historical landmarks and an active volcano.
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Map and Location
Turrialba Costa Rica map
The city of Turrialba is 54 kilometers east from San Jose and is known as the gateway to the Caribbean. The town grew immensely due to the railroad many years ago when it was functioning.
Turrialba City
The city is not very big when compared to cities like Heredia and San Jose. Since it’s not very touristic, experiencing local life comes easily. Additionally, the University of Costa Rica is right in town so visitors can witness Costa Ricans going about their normal life of work and school.
It also has an interesting mix of city and farming cultures. Only a few kilometers up in the mountains is one of the biggest farming communities in Costa Rica, famous for their invention of Turrialba cheese. Due to the importance of farming in the area, visitors can enjoy learning about the agriculture culture of Costa Rica.
Like a typical city, Turrialba experiences traffic and has all the basic facilities like pharmacies, banks and restaurants. Most locals work either in farming, textiles or tourism. The Rawlings Major League Baseball factory played a huge part in the area’s economy for many years as well. However, they have unfortunately closed recently forcing locals to search elsewhere for work.
Luckily, tourism in Turrialba is growing significantly and more hotels, tour operators and companies establish themselves every year.
Turrialba Weather
Due to its location past the Caribbean slope, Turrialba experiences an interesting climate. In the city, it is hot with temperatures around 90’s in dry season (mid December to beginning of May). However, the Caribbean experiences a bit of a different weather pattern so it can rain more and longer during the typical tropical rainy season (May to beginning of May). This is why this area is so great for farming and agriculture.
Up in the mountains near Guayabo, Santa Cruz and the national park, the weather is much cooler and fresher with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s.
Things to Do in Turrialba
Turrialba Volcano National Park
The main attraction is Turrialba Volcano National Park. This volcano has made international headlines the past year with its many intense eruptions, spewing ash as far as the Central Valley.
Though the national park is closed, visitors can still drive up to the park entrance and get very close to the volcano.
River Rafting and Kayaking
This area has several excellent rivers for white water rafting and kayaking. Rio Pacuare and the Rio Pejibaye are two of the great rivers where tourists can white water raft rapids up to Class 4 and 4+ or learn how to river kayak.
There are also river kayaking competitions and many locals are professional competitors or tour guides.
Turrialba Cheese
Turrialba cheese is one of the most iconic Costa Rican products that you can find in every supermarket. However, if you want to try the freshest and most authentic, then you have to take a tour at one of the local farms.
We visited Finca La Florita, a small farm run by a mother-daughter team whose ancestors were one of the original people to make the cheese. It was super interesting to learn about the process and the eco-friendly steps they’ve taken to offset their carbon and methane production from having cows.
Guayabo Monument
Not far from the city is the Guayabo Monument, one of the most important historical sites in Costa Rica. There you can explore the remains of an ancient civilization, dating back to the pre-Columbian times.
Take a guided tour to learn about the history and speculations archaeologists have about this civilization.
Mountain Biking
Turrialba is one of the stops of the Ruta de los Conquistadores, the toughest mountain bike race in the world. The surrounding mountains make for excellent biking, with people all over the world visiting for that specific reason.
You can read about other things to do in Turrialba in this post.
Orosi Valley
Take a drive to the Orosi Valley which has some of the most beautiful landscapes in Costa Rica. Hike Tapanti National Park or relax in the hot springs at Hacienda Orosi.
Turrialba Hotels
In Turrialba, you’ll find more boutique inns and lodges to compliment the rural countryside of the area. We stayed at Guayabo Lodge, close to the national park, Santa Cruz town and Guayabo Monument.
Some other hotels are Casa Turire, Turrialtico Lodge and Hotel Villa Florencia. We also stayed at an Airbnb which was an apartment right in town.
Restaurants
Here are the restaurants in Turrialba we liked.
Bar Treinta Y Tantos: This place has awesome drinks, a fun bar atmosphere and good bar food.
Betico Mata: Great place for gallos (Costa Rican snacks) and beef.
Wok and Roll: Not a bad place for Asian fusion.
Soda across the street from UCR (can’t remember the name)
Thoughts on Visiting
As Turrialba is still an under the radar town in Costa Rica, it’s an excellent choice for visitors who don’t want to go to super touristic destination. If you are visiting, we recommend staying a few nights so you can experience both the city, volcano and small towns in the area.
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