You will transfer on your air conditioned private motor coach to Guayabo Lodge in Santa Cruz de Turrialba. On your transfer, you will have a chance to view some of the urban areas of San Jose before you arrive in the more rural regions. Your guide will give an overview of volcanoes before you stop at Irazu Volcano.
Irazu Volcano is the highest volcano of Costa Rica with a height of 3432 meters (11,260 feet). The name Aztar (Irazu) derives from the language of local Indians who used to live upon its slopes. It means “the place that shakes” or the “mountain of rumbling and trembling.” It offers an assortment of craters, boiling mud pots, green and blue lakes, fumaroles, pyroclastic cones, and cloud forests. On clear days from the summit it is possible to see both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
NOTE: If weather affects visibility, you will instead tour the Basilica de Los Angeles in Cartago, Costa Rica’s first capital.
You will continue along the back roads through picturesque villages to Guayabo Lodge in Santa Cruz de Turrialba. You will settle into your rooms and have lunch.
After lunch you have a guided walk in the rainforest at Guayabo National Park, the most important archaeological site of Costa Rica, dating back over 3,000 years. Some of the structures you can see include entryways (stone roads), mounds and dwelling foundations, tombs, aqueducts and petroglyphs. Your naturalist guide will also explain various features of the rainforest.
Once back at Guayabo Lodge, you can relax and enjoy the beautiful view of the Turrialba Valley and the mountains. After dinner, you will see a performance of traditional folk dances by local villagers. They will also teach you some of the moves. Overnight at Guayabo Lodge