6 Best Sights in Alajuela, Central Valley

The Central Valley is coffee country. Consider devoting an hour of your vacation to learning about the crop's production. Doka Estate, a working coffee plantation for more than 70 years, offers a comprehensive tour that takes you through the fields, shows you how the fruit is processed and the beans are dried, and lets you sample the local brew. The best time to take this tour is during the October-to-February picking season. Transportation can be arranged from San José, Alajuela, Heredia, Escazú, or San Antonio de Belén. Various add-on packages include breakfast and/or lunch. Doka features on many organized area tours in combination with various other Central Valley attractions.

The large neoclassical Alajuela Cathedral has columns topped by interesting capitals decorated with local agricultural motifs, and a striking red metal dome. Construction was completed in 1863. The interior is spacious but rather plain, except for the ornate cupola above the altar.

The heroic deeds of Juan Santamaría are celebrated in this museum housed in the old jail, on the north side of Parque Central. It's worth a quick look if you have the time; Santamaría's story is an interesting one. A pleasant café inside is a great place to stop for a coffee.

Royal palms and massive mango trees fill Alajuela's central park—residents frequently refer to the park as the Parque de los Mangos—which also has a lovely fountain imported from Glasgow and concrete benches where locals gather to chat. Everyone agrees the futuristic gazebo at the center of the park is a bit of an eyesore. Surrounding the plaza is an odd mix of charming old buildings and sterile concrete boxes.

Alajuela was the birthplace of Juan Santamaría, the national hero who lost his life in a battle against the mercenary army of U.S. adventurer William Walker when the latter invaded Costa Rica in 1856. The Parque Juan Santamaría, more a small plaza than a park, has a statue of the young hero. It's worth a detour only if you're a student of Costa Rican history. The park gets a little dodgy as the sun goes down; confine your visits to daylight hours.

Spread over lush grounds, the zoo has a collection of large cages holding toucans, hawks, parrots, and free-ranging macaws as part of a breeding project for rare and endangered birds, all of which are destined for eventual release. It has 115 bird species, including such rare ones as the quetzal, fiery-billed aracari, several types of eagles, and even ostriches. An impressive mural at the back of the facility shows Costa Rica's 850 bird species painted to scale. Wingless animals include crocodiles, caimans, a boa constrictor, turtles, monkeys, wildcats, and other interesting critters. A botanical garden rounds out the offerings here. The facility was formerly known as Zoo Ave, and many locals still refer to it that way.