Ojochal

Ojochal is a village of a few hundred people in the hills behind the southern Pacific coast, and it has acquired a reputation for eating out of all proportion to its size: from the 1990s a group of French Canadian settlers opened restaurants, others followed, and the village now holds a couple of dozen places serving French, Indonesian, Mediterranean, Peruvian and other cooking, most of them small, owner-run and open only in season. It is called the culinary capital of the Costa Ballena locally. Around it are river waterfalls, the beaches at Ventanas and Tortuga, and rainforest in the hills. Accommodation is villas and small hotels scattered on the slopes.

What to look for

• The restaurants - the concentration of small owner-run places.
• The village - the scattered settlement in the hills.
• Nearby beaches - Ventanas and Tortuga on the coast below.
• River falls - the waterfalls in the hills behind.

When to go

December to April is the high season when most restaurants are open; many close entirely from September to November. Booking is needed in season since places are small.

Things to know

A substantial number of restaurants close in the low season, and the village can be very quiet then. There is no village centre; everything is spread on hillside roads and a car is necessary. Prices are high for Costa Rica.

Nearby

Playa Ventanas lies south; Uvita is north.