Guayabo National Monument
Guayabo National Monument |
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About:Guayabo Park centers on an archeological excavation of a prehistoric Indian village, portions of which date back more than three thousand years. It is the largest archaeological site in Costa Rica. In its heyday, the village covered nearly 49 acres (20 hectares) and was home to between 1,500 to 2,000 people. Scientists date some of the objects found here to an era twelve hundred years before Christ. The main development occurred between 400 and 1,400 AD when the stone structures on the site were built. Artifacts indicate the Indians were highly skilled at civil engineering, architecture and urban planning. Tombs, better known as "Tumbas de Cajon", have also been uncovered on the site. Most of the buildings are constructed of wood on stone foundations. The areas between the houses are paved in stone which did duty both as drainage and as streets which are several kilometers long, running off in several directions. Hillside areas are connected by stone stairways. Aqueducts, both open and covered, carried water from streams to rectangular storage tanks and from the storage tanks to wherever it was needed. Only a portion of the excavation is complete. The mounds or "tells" yet to be examined range in size from one half to four and half meters high (1.5 to 15 feet) and ten to thirty meters (30 to 100 feet) in diameter. Guayabo is by the far the largest and most important archeological site in Costa Rica. Visitors should feel free to put their minds to work, solving some of the many mysteries about this site. For example, you'll see petroglyphs of birds, cats and other animals. You will pass ceremonial monoliths carved with the stylized figures of jaguars and alligators. You will stand before nine sculptures carved in stone, and study a wooden container that was dragged from the water of one of the storage tanks. What do the signs mean? Who created these objects? Nobody knows. Perhaps you can solve the puzzle. We do know certain things. We can infer, by studying other cultures in this area, that this ancient tribe was governed by a "cacique," or chief who wielded political and spiritual power over the people of his region. We can infer from the artifacts found here that citizens of the civilization were politically and mechanically advanced enough to divide the labor among them, allowing individuals to specialize in one field or another, using their skills for the good of the community. However, we still can't answer the important questions. Where did they come from? Or why, long before the Spanish conquest, did they disappear?
Weather: 45°F to 75°F
Activities: Visitors may hike to archaeological points of interest. Camping is possible; check with the ranger station.
Facilities:The ranger station has camping facilities, restrooms, showers and trails.
Trails: There are marked trails for hiking.
Flora & Fauna: The area is surrounded by an evergreen forest of trees such as elm, bitter cedar, and manni. Eighty different species of orchids are found here, including some bromeliads, monkey-tail B, impatients ("china"), wild strangler, and Turrialba orchids.
Fees and Schedule:Getting There:By bus: The bus leaves Turrialba for Guayabo at 5:15 p.m. You could stay at Albergue la Calzada and visit in the morning. The return bus leaves at 5:30 a.m. On Mondays and Fridays only, a bus leaves Turrialba at 11:10am. You can also go back to Turrialba by walking down hill for 4 km (2.5 mi.) to catch a bus in Santa Teresita de Turrialba. It usually comes around 1:30 p.m. Check the schedule with the Ranger. By car: From San Jose, take Highway 1 south towards Cartago and continue through Cervantes, Turrialba and Santa Teresita. Follow the signs to the Guayabo Monument. You might need a fourwheel drive vehicle for the forty-minute drive to the park off the main road.
Contact Info: ACCVC: Central Volcanic Conservation Area
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