Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [114]
Return to beginning of chapter
TURRIALBA AREA
* * *
In the vicinity of Turrialba, at an elevation of 650m above sea level, the Río Reventazón gouges a mountain pass through the Cordillera Central. In the 1880s this geological quirk allowed the ‘Jungle Train’ between San José and Puerto Limón to roll through, and the mountain village of Turrialba grew prosperous from the coffee trade. Later, the first highway linking the capital to the coast exploited this same quirk. Turrialba thrived.
However, things changed by the early 1990s when the straighter, smoother Hwy 32 through Guápiles was completed and an earthquake succeeded in shutting down the railway for good. Suddenly, Turrialba found itself off the beaten path. Even so, the area remains a key agricultural center, renowned for its mountain air, strong coffee and Central America’s best white-water rafting. To the north, the area is home to two important sites: the majestic Volcán Turrialba and the archeological site of Guayabo (Click here).
Return to beginning of chapter
TURRIALBA
pop 27,000
When the railway shut down in 1991, Turrialba ceased to be an important commercial pit-stop in the San José–Limón trade route. Commerce slowed down, but the town nonetheless remained a regional agricultural center, where local coffee planters could bring their crops to market. Things didn’t remain quiet for long, however. With tourism on the rise in the 1990s, it wasn’t long before this modest mountain town became known for having access to some of the best white-water rafting on the planet. By the early 2000s, Turrialba was a simmering hot-bed of international rafters looking for Class-V thrills.
But this new economy faced a troubled future. In the early part of the new millennium, the national power company (ICE) began to make good on a long-running plan to dam the lower Río Pacuare – the most popular stretch of white water in the country – to increase hydroelectric production. The dam, however, would destroy the rapids and, with them, part of Turrialba’s economy. Townspeople united with conservation groups to successfully oppose the dam. The project was shelved, but other plans are afoot, perhaps to dam the upper part of the river. It’s a long way off, however. For more details on dam projects, see boxed text.
Return to beginning of chapter
Information
There’s no official tourist office, but better hotels and most white-water rafting outfits can organize tours, accommodations and transportation throughout the region.
Banco de Costa Rica (cnr Av Central & Calle 3; 9am-4pm Mon-Fri) Has a 24-hour ATM on the Cirrus and Visa Plus systems.
ECA Internet (2nd fl, Calle 1 btwn Avs 4 & 6; per hr ₡300; 9am-9pm) Check your email here, on the northeast corner of Parque Central.
Return to beginning of chapter
Sights
About 4km east of Turrialba, Catie (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación; Center for Tropical Agronomy Research & Education; 2556-6431; www.catie.ac.cr; admission US$1, guided tours US$15-20; 7am-4pm) consists of 1000 hectares dedicated to tropical agricultural research and education. Agronomists from all over the world recognize this as one of the most important centers in the tropics. You need to make reservations for one of several available guided tours through laboratories, greenhouses, a seed bank, experimental plots and one of the most extensive libraries of tropical-agriculture literature in the world. You can also easily pick up a map (or print one off their website) and take a self-guided walk through the gardens to a pond, where waterbirds such as the purple gallinule are a specialty. You can walk to Catie or get a taxi (₡1500) from Turrialba.
About 10km east of Turrialba, in the village of Pavones (500m east of the cemetery), Parque Viborana (2538-1510; admission US$7; 9am-4pm Mon-Fri) is a small serpentarium run by a local family. Here you can see (and even handle) a variety of Costa Rican snakes, including some very large boas. A rustic visitors area has a small exhibit.