pura vida passENES

Ruinas de Ujarrás

Landmark · San José & Central Valley

The lime-and-stone shell of a 1690s church, one of the oldest in the country, standing in a quiet park of lawns and old trees near Lake Cachí.

Cost
Free
Time there
30 min
Best time
morning
Kids
8 / 10
View
6 / 10
Crowds
3 / 10
Swimming
0 / 10
Effort
1 / 10
Location
9.827236, -83.836161 — Google Maps

Tip

Have a picnic on the lawn; the road around Lake Cachí makes this part of an easy loop with Orosi and the dam.

Be careful

Some walls are braced and fenced: don't climb on the ruins.

Places nearby

  • Finca Cristina (coffee farm and store)Parks & Wildlife · from $25Family coffee farm above the Orosi valley with a 90-minute plantation tour and tasting three days a week, a farm store, and a conservation area known for birds and other wildlife.
  • La Casona del Cafetal (restaurant on Lake Cachí)Food & CoffeeLakeside restaurant (part of a small hotel) on a coffee estate above Cachí reservoir, with a large covered terrace over the water and traditional Costa Rican cooking such as gallo pinto.
  • Cafetería 1743 & SouvenirFood & CoffeeCozy café-restaurant by the sports plaza in Orosí village, named after the 1743 colonial church nearby, serving coffee from the valley, cheese tortillas, sandwiches, pasta and homemade pastries, with a garden terrace.
  • Jardín Botánico Lankester (University of Costa Rica)Parks & WildlifeUniversity of Costa Rica botanical garden founded in 1973, famous for its orchid and epiphyte collections, plus a Japanese garden, bromeliads, heliconias and palms along shaded paths.
  • Termales Hacienda OrosiYoga & WellnessThermal pools at different temperatures set in a coffee estate above the Orosi valley, with day and night passes, a restaurant, a small farm and a self-guided coffee trail.
  • Bocadito de CieloFood & CoffeeMountaintop restaurant on the road to Turrialba with panoramic views and old photographs of Cartago on the walls, serving Costa Rican plates with a coffee and crafts store at the back.

Sources: OpenStreetMap way/402047509 · https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/402047509 · https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujarr%C3%A1s · https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q10751754