| Alajuela
province is vast, in Costa Rican terms at least, extending
from Alajuela
town, 20km northwest of San José, all the
way north to the Nicaraguan border and west to the slopes of
Volcán Arenal. Our account deals only with that part of
the province on the south side of the Cordillera Central, spanning
the area from Alajuela itself to the town of Zarcero, 59km to
the northwest in the highlands. Parque Nacional Volcán
Poás is the area's principal attraction, while the
ride up to the crater gives good views over the whole densely
populated
and heavily cultivated province, passing flower-growing fincas,
fruit farms and the occasional coffee field.
People
also head out here to see the crafts factories at Sarchí ,
famous for its coloured wooden ox-carts; Zoo-Ave , the exceptional
bird sanctuary and zoo just west of Alajuela on the way to
La Garita; the Butterfly Farm at La Guácima; and
the popular La Paz Waterfall Gardens. |
ROOMS COSTA RICA
