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The Central Valley has an area of nearly 3500 square kilometers ( 2100 square miles ) and it encompasses four of the largest cities in Costa Rica; San Jose, Alajuela, Cartago and Heredia.This region is both historically and geographically the heart of Costa Rica. To the north and east, the Central Valley is bounded by the mountain range known as Central Range of Mountains, with contains several volcanoes including the famous Poás and Irazú. To the south the region is bounded by the north end of the Cordillera de Talamanca and a short mountainous projection called the Fila de Bustamante.
The so called " Central Valley " is not really a valley and a more appropiate name would be the " central plateau ". About 60% of Costa Rica´s population lives in the central valley. The region´s fertile volcanic soil and pleasant climate attracted the first successful Spanish settlers.
Today, four of Costa Rica´s seven provinces have fingers of land within the Central Valley, and all four have their political capitals there. Despite their provincial capital status, the cities of the Central Valley do not have a well-developed hotel infrastructure, although Alajuela, close to the international airport, does have a few good places to stay. Most visitors use San José as a base for day trips to the other cities, as well as many other attractions of the Central Valley region. The essentially rural nature of Costa Rica is made evident by the roads of the Central Valley. Most of the attractions of the Central Valley are covered on our " One day Tours " website.
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