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Zarcero – The Mountain Town With Topiary Gardens

June 30, 2019 By Sammi 14 Comments

If you’re looking for a small, local town to visit in Costa Rica, then Zarcero should be at the top of your list. It’s a charming little town up in the mountains of Alajuela with a fantastic topiary garden and beautiful church.

Whether you pass by Zarcero, take a day trip there or stay a couple nights, here is what you need to know about visiting.

Location

Zarcero map

Zarcero is 49 kilometers (30 miles) from San Jose and about a 1 hour drive.

Directions

By driving: Take Route 1 out of San Jose (from the airport) and exit onto Route 141 to start driving north. The road gets very windy and curvy when you turn onto Route 141 so go slow.

By bus: There is a bus company called Transportes Zarcero that leaves from the Coca-Cola station in San Jose at 915 AM, 1220 PM, 420 PM and 520 PM. This one is direct and takes 1.5 hours. An adult ticket is around 1200 colones (~$2.00)

Zarcero town

Zarcero is a small town in the canton of Zarcero in the Alajuela province with just a little under 5000 residents. If you want to see what a Costa Rican town that’s not overrun by tourists, visit Zarcero.You’ll see local kids and families hanging out at the park and farmers chatting and drinking coffee in the mornings. It’s an incredibly nice experience for tourists.

When Yeison was a kid, his mom would take him and his sisters to Zarcero on the weekends to visit the gardens. It’s a popular spot for city locals!

Zarcero

The town is very small and you can drive through it in a few minutes. They are well known for their dairy farming so you will see lots of farms on the outlying mountains.

The Topiary Garden

Zarcero is the most famous for their topiary gardens centrally located in front of the church. Called Parque Francisco Alvarado, it was created by Evangelisto Blanco in the 1960’s who was inspired to trim the bushes to turn the area into an amusing park. Since then, the beautifully sculpted shrubs have become the main attraction. Visitors and locals love to stroll through the arches and marvel at the various shapes that have taken form.

You can find monkeys, dinosaurs, elephants and many other animals and don’t be surprised if you find one that looks kind of bizarre or seems a bit off from the real animal.

Zarcero
Dinosaur + Yeison
Zarcero
Elephant? Buffalo?

Zarcero

 

Zarcero
Monkey…I think

Zarcero

The Church

Another attraction in Zarcero is the church, Iglesia de San Rafael located right up the steps from the park. This pink and blue church built in 1895 is an impressive one with beautiful paintings and decorations inside.

Zarcero

Zarcero

If you have a car, you can park in the parking lot behind the church. They take donations (recommended to give 1000-2000 colones) and they also have a bathroom (500 colones).

Other attractions

Zarcero is also well known for their dairy products and local produce. As you drive along the road to the town, you can see small stands with what looks like big white balls hanging outside. Those are actually balls of cheese called queso palmito which are homemade and a famous product of this region.

Other yummy local delights are the cajetas (caramel candy), cheese crackers, natilla (sour cream) and various other produce.

Visiting Zarcero

Since the town is very small, most tourists visit when they’re driving from San Jose to Bajos del Toro or if they’re in the Grecia/Palmares/Sarchi area.

Read about other towns in Costa Rica!

Grecia

La Fortuna

Puntarenas

Filed Under: Cities Costa Rica

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Noriko says

    February 25, 2021

    Hello, is this free? How is the parking for this park? Thank you for all useful information you share.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      February 25, 2021

      There is only street parking here or you can park in the church parking lot and give a donation fee

      Reply
  2. NK says

    May 22, 2017

    Does anyone know the name of angel that overlooks the garden?

    Reply
  3. Rene Merritt says

    November 21, 2015

    How about more detail about the bus to Panama….How much how long….where do you get the ticket…Is first class
    possible…number of stops can you get off and stay a day or two and get back on….????

    Reply
  4. lorie says

    August 29, 2014

    its amazing what artists can do even with bushes thanks for sharing

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      August 31, 2014

      Agreed!

      Reply
  5. Samantha says

    August 29, 2014

    Ah it seems everybody is travelling in Costa Rica! I really would love to go! Never heard of Zarcero so thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      August 31, 2014

      It’s a cute little town, great for a one day stop! I know right it seems like everyone is there right when I left haha

      Reply
  6. Paul says

    August 27, 2014

    I love anything creative like this, I find it remarkable how skilled the people must be to create the shapes they do with the bushes, you must have a great imagination and eye for detail.

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      May 20, 2015

      Agreed! So creative!

      Reply
  7. Richa Gupta says

    August 26, 2014

    This looks amazing! I have always wanted to go to Costa Rica for this yoga retreat! I hope I make it there soon!

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      May 20, 2015

      Oh Costa Rica is a great place for a yoga retreat!

      Reply
  8. Rachel@safari254 says

    August 1, 2014

    Love the topiary gardens and magnificent church interior 🙂

    Reply
    • Sammi says

      August 1, 2014

      Hi Rachel! I loved them too, so pretty!

      Reply

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