Cartago

Once the capital of Costa Rica. Cartago is now a beautiful untouched city to visit with lots of ruins to see and a wonderful cool  weather.

Cartago is house of the Irazu Volcano, which destroyed the city in 1732 forcing the capital to be moved to San José. Today, you can find ruins of important catholic churches at the time. It is a crucial agricultural center given to its rich soil and clean waters. Cartago’s average weather is between 60°F and 77°F.

Cartago has an important basilica for the catholic Costa Ricans: Basilica of our Lady of the Angels. Every year on August second, Costa Ricans celebrate the day of their “Negrita” with a pilgrimage towards the basilica. If you go visit Cartago around this time of the year, you will see groups of people walking from everywhere around the country. It always gets crazy crowded for this important day.

What activities are there to do in Cartago?

• Lankester Botanical Garden: has a thousand varieties of orchids, you can find cacti and succulents, palms, bamboos, heliconias, bromeliads, and conifers. The gardens are 10.7 hectares.
• Basilica of our Lady of the Angels: Built in 1639. This basilica is a Roman Catholic church with a mix of colonial architecture and 19th century Byzantine style. The original stone statue of the Virgin is inside the basilica protected by a golden shell. A spring goes under the church and it is believed to do miracles for sick people that drink its water of wash themselves in it. People bring silver medals shaped as body parts to offer to the Virgin to ensure better health.
• Irazu Volcano: active volcano that erupted for the last time in 1994. It is 11,260 feet tall which makes it the largest volcano of the country. You can hike to its crater or drive to it. If the day is clear, you might be able to see both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
• Lake Cachí: located in the Orosí Valley. It is an artificial lake built in 1970 that is used as a dam for hydroelectric energy and also for prevention of floodings.
• Sanatorium Dr. Carlos Duran Cartin: founded in 1918 and said to be the scariest place in Costa Rica. I used to be a hospital for people with tuberculosis which used to have a high mortality rate. People used to talk about a ghostly monk that visited the sick. Even today, some people claim to have seen some sort of paranormal activity.
• Ruins: there are two interesting ruins to go visit: the ruins of Cartago and the Ujarrás ruins. They are ruins of churches destroyed by volcanic earthquakes. In your way to the ruins you get to see the city better and also enjoy of beautiful views.
  

  Irazu Volcano

  

  Irazu Volcano Information

  

  Lake Cachí

  

  Sanatorium Duran

  

  Ujarrás ruins

  

  Cartago Ruins