CATURGUA
Tourism Chamber of
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
MISSION
Work to assure inhabitants, the business
sector and tourists that Guanacaste is one of the best places
for living, visiting and doing business.
VISION
To represent the private sector of the
province with dignity, not only to benefit small and medium
size enterprises, but also large business.
GUANACASTE
Beatiful pristine beaches, fascinating
National Parks and a great variety of activities, including
fishing and world class scuba diving, await in Guanacaste,
one of the biggest provinces of Costa Rica, with an extension
of over 6800 square miles.
Going from the country's Central Valley
to Guanacaste is like if you were traveling to a different
world. The mountainous, winding roads gradually become flat,
the humid green vegetation, gives way to the tropical dry
forest and the mountains vanish in the horizon.
Guanacaste is, without hesitation, the richest coastal area
of Costa Rica, with more than 200 kilometers of Pacific
coast. It offers its visitors the gift of nature: from pristine
beaches to rocky points covered with tropical dry forest.
Here you find modern and gourmet restaurants.
You can rent sport fishing equipment, go parasailing, scuba
diving, or water skiing. You can play golf on courses designed
by PGA professionals, or you can spend the night in a discotheque,
or your days shopping.
The region known today as the Cantón
de Nicoya is part of a vast territory that was occupied
by the Chorotega tribe during the pre-Columbian era. It
was part of Nicaragua until 1824, when on July 25 the party
of Nicoya decided to be part of the State of Costa Rica
by popular election. Guanacaste is an essential part of
the Costa Rican heritage. It has preserved it own culture
and folklore.
The name of Guanacaste derives from the náhuatl (native
tribe) word cuauhnacaztli, which means "place of the
ear tree. Clearly refering to a distinctive tree in the
region whose seed pod is shaped like a human ear, this tree
also has the honor of being Costa Rica's national tree.
The weather is hot most of the year, but like the rest of
Costa Rica the region has two well defined seasons: dry
and green. Temperatures are constant throughout the year,
even during the green season, ranging from 21° and 33°
C.
The dry season is from november to march.
Bathers can work on their tan, while flowering trees create
a colorful backdrop. The "green" or wet season
is from mid may to november. Even during the green season
showers are mainly during the late afternoon or night-there
is still a lot of sun to catch!
Visit these pages-travel through Guanacaste.
It is a land of much natural and cultural beauty. We want
to to help you make the most of your visit.
