Santa Barbara
From the flatlands of the valley to the most beautiful mountains.
Santa Barbara is canton number 4 of the province of Heredia. With a population of 36.243 inhabitants, the geography of the canton extends from the flatlands of the central valley to the mountains of the central volcanic range.
The main town is called Santa Barbara with a population of 6000 inhabitants, full of restaurants, stores, services, and supermarkets. Also, buses are coming from Alajuela and Heredia from 6:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., hence most of the canton is accessible by public transport.
Other important towns inside the canton are San Pedro, San Juan, San Bosco, El Roble, and Birri. All these towns have essential services and stores available.
Commercial Activities of Santa Barbara
The predominant commercial activities of the canton are agriculture, cattle raising, and commerce. On the other hand, Santa Barbara has a few tourist-specific attractions like coffee tours, hiking trails, and some nice hotels. However, the canton is very friendly for rural tourism. In short, if you want to know towns with friendly people, nice parks and impressive views of the central valley, this is the right choice.
Roads
Above all, Santa Barbara roads are in excellent condition. Therefore walking and biking are highly recommended. Some routes are very demanding physically because the geography is uneven. As a result, there are many descents and slopes due to the different small rivers that flow down from the Barva volcano.
Certainly, the main roads are very well marked on the map. On the other hand, if you want to take an alternate route ask locals for advice.
Some routes do not have sidewalks so be careful. Meanwhile, the Internet connection is good even in high zones near the mountain range.
Conclusion
Santa Barbara is just 8KM away from Heredia and 10KM away from the Juan Santamaria International Airport. With this in mind, this canton seems the right place to get in contact with rural Costa Rica, without getting away from the city. With the right physical condition, you can rent a mountain bike and visit the most important towns in a single day. Breakfast at Santa Barbara, have a nice meal at El Roble, and buy some nice coffee-related souvenirs at the Britt shop.
Enjoy these photos of Santa Barbara
