Guayabo National Monument

Guayabo, on the slopes below the Turrialba volcano, is the largest and most important archaeological site in Costa Rica, a settlement occupied for well over two thousand years and abandoned, for reasons still unclear, shortly before the Spanish arrived. What survives beneath the forest is the infrastructure of a town: circular stone foundations where conical houses stood, paved causeways running out into the country, staircases, a monolith carved with a jaguar and a lizard, and, most impressively, an aqueduct and drainage system built with such judgment that parts of it still channel spring water across the site today, an achievement that earned it recognition as an engineering landmark. Trails loop through the ruins and the surrounding forest, which is full of birds. It is modest compared with the great sites of Mexico or Peru, and it is much the better for being quiet and green.

History

Guayabo was settled from about 1000 BC and abandoned around AD 1400, a century before the Spanish arrived, for reasons still unknown, and at its height it may have held some 10,000 people. The site was first noticed in the 19th century and first excavated in 1882, and further digs in the 1960s uncovered much of its known centre: 43 stone foundations of conical wooden houses, three aqueducts, two main roads and dozens of paths, stone tombs and petroglyphs of jaguars and lizards. The largest mound stands at the centre, and the paved road starting in front of it ran to settlements up to 9 kilometres away (Wikipedia, Guayabo National Monument).

What's there

• The working aqueduct - the pre-Columbian water channels still carrying spring water.
• The causeways - the paved stone roads running out from the settlement.
• The house foundations - the circular stone platforms where dwellings stood.
• The carved monolith - the stone worked with jaguar and lizard figures.

When to go

December to April is the drier season and better for the trails, which are slippery in the rain; this is a wet, green corner of the country in any month. Mornings are clearest for views towards the Turrialba volcano. Guided tours add a great deal, as the site is subtle.

Things to know

Expect foundations and stonework under forest rather than pyramids or standing buildings, and without a guide much of it reads as low walls in the trees. It is off the main tourist circuit east of San José, so getting there needs a car or a taxi from Turrialba. Paths are steep in places and often muddy. For anyone who has seen Tikal or Machu Picchu, the scale will feel small.

Nearby

Turrialba town and its rafting rivers are nearby; the Orosi valley and Cartago lie to the west.

Key facts