Heredia

Sitting just a short distance from the Capital San Jose, the lush and gorgeous province of Heredia is one of the most beautiful provinces in Costa Rica. Known for its verdant coffee plantation covered hills and volcanic national parks; this mountainous region also has dense tropical forests, stunning waterfalls and roaring rivers that make it the ideal destination, for those who wish to enjoy nature at its very best. Offering a plethora of activities both nature and adventure based, the province of Heredia is definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the region.

The construction of churches so that the populace could comply with its religious obligations and ceremonies including weddings, baptisms, and funerals was an important criteria in the development of communities during colonial times (in modern times, soccer fields seem to have replaced this function). In 1706, the first parish church in this region was erected in Lagunilla, near the village of El Barreal, but in 1717 was moved several kilometers to the north to the site that would become the city of Heredia. It is reported that houses in outlying areas were even burned so that their occupants would move closer to the center of the developing town. Variously known throughout the colonial period as Villa Vieja or Cubujuquí, the name Heredia comes from the man who managed to obtain the title of "villa" for the newly formed settlement, don Gonzalo Fernández de Heredia. The present day church in the center of Heredia is one of the oldest in Costa Rica, dating back to 1797.

With the introduction of coffee to Costa Rica, the fertile southern slopes of Barva Volcano became populated with plantations of this crop. The steep and very rainy northern slope did not become populated until much more recently. The Sarapiquí River, which is navigable upstream from the San Juan River (which flows into the Caribbean) as far inland as Puerto Viejo (Old Port) de Sarapiquí at the volcano's base on the northern side, was an important transportation route for those few hardy settlers who first moved into this region. Although as recently as 1953, a mere three thatched-roof houses were all that comprised the village of Puerto Viejo.

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