This fascinating guided hike allows you to explore one of Costa Rica’s most mysterious ancient archeological sites where discoveries are still being made. A very large civilization existed at this site and scientist are keen to learn more about the beliefs and lifestyle of the people who later vanished to find out what may have happened.
Your day will begin when you are picked up from your hotel and driven down a long bumpy road to the entrance of the site. When you arrive, you will meet your bilingual guide who is a specialist working at the Guayabo Archeological Site.
Approximately 3,000 years ago the site was a booming civilization with an estimated 10,000 people living there. No one knows much about what they did or why they chose that particular location - the site is situated right below the Turrialba volcano, and interestingly at the exact center point of all of the Americas.
Many of the wooden structures have deteriorated long ago, but there are a lot of remaining stone formations, stone carvings and a functional water drainage system. One of the most revealing aspects of daily life are the petroglyphs. No one knows exactly what all the stone carvings mean, but many depict different types of animals and aspects of nature. While much remains a mystery about their disappearance, your guide will share with you key findings and the historical interpretations that have been made from the drawings.
The area was claimed as a protected site in 1973 to preserve the history and culture of Costa Rica. An educational center was established to create an opportunity for visitors to learn about their cultural importance. Situated within Guayaba National Park, 536 acres of protected land is still being examined as discoveries continue to be made about this ancient civilization. Your knowledgeable guide will lead you through stone paths, hills and nature trails while describing what is currently known about the site.
While hiking through the forest canopy you’ll also have an opportunity to catch a glimpse of some of Costa Rica’s amazing animals that could be hiding within the canopy. Your guide will assist you in finding any possible visible wildlife such as sloths, monkeys, iguanas, and exotic plant species that all live in the area.
This tour includes admission, a bilingual historian guide, and transportation from Turrialba. One way transport can take from 15 minutes to 1 hour to get to the site depending on the location of your hotel. Combined time of tour and round trip transportation is typically 4 to 6 hours. Please bring walking shoes, rain jacket, sunscreen, bug repellent, camera and a bottle of water.
The Guayabo Archeological Hike is available from Turrialba
8 and up
Latitude: N 9° 58' 20.56"
Longitude: W 83° 41' 40.74"
01/24/2019
Our guide was very knowledgable and answered any questions we had. The site was very interesting. Vehicle was comfortable.
10/29/2018
it was a day of full tropical rain - the whole time we were there, which was a shame, and the observation point and the walk to this, was closed making this trip shorter and less interesting as it had otherwise been. The guide was very good though.