Upon arrival to Guayabo, visitors are first surprised by large number of bird calls that can be heard. The narrow and well kept trail that leads to the National Monument is a haven for numerous bananaquits; green, blue and yellow tanagers, booby birds, red-winged blackbirds as well as various species tree climbing birds.
The diversity of avifauna claims the 218 hectares (558 acres) of Guayabo as its habitat, hiding amid the dense evergreen foliage of the forest classified as Tropical Premontane Wet; where there is also and abundance of precious wood trees adorned with bromelias and orchids.
Guayabo National Monument
For 24 centuries, a tenth of the lands of this natural treasure were the site of one of the principal pre-Hispanic populations of Costa Rica. The relatively small area that has been uncovered to date reveals the existence of an indigenous society composed of specialized workers. The society was led by a Cacique (chieftain) and Shaman (traditional healer), who respectively exercised their political and religious power over a wide agricultural area located at the foot of the Turrialba Volcano with abundant hunting and fishing grounds.
The absence of large buildings leads the visitor to rather explore the impressive set of small structures including tombs, petroglyphs, monoliths and small sculptures; all distributed amid the forest floor in mounds, stairways, open and covered aqueducts and water storage tanks. This infrastructure evidences the highly developed techniques in
engineering, architecture and urbanism of this pre-Columbian society.
The narrative of expert guides will transport your clients to a lost world of ancient artists that carved the image of jaguars and crocodiles on stone monoliths or symbolized the elements of water in the spiral carvings on many petroglyphs. These were a people with a different and perhaps deeper understanding of the environment and the flora and fauna of the region.
The significance of Guayabo as the principal urban nucleus, of pre-Hispanic Costa Rica was reinforced in 2005 through the efforts and investigations of scientists of the University of Costa Rica's Center of Atomic, Nuclear and Molecular Investigation as well as the University's School of Anthropology & Sociology and the 2005 Cartographic Mission; the latter an initiative consisting of aerial photography of all of Costa Rica.
The combination of ethno-historic and archaeological sources and the use of leading edge technology to analyze high definition Hyperspectral imagery, have fostered the discovery of a network of roads originating in Guayabo and leading to diverse areas of the country. The initial results of the investigation show routes to such distant places as Talamanca in the southeastern region of Costa Rica, Cubujuquí in the Central Valley, Tobosi in Cartago and Guápiles in the Northern Plains.
Guayabo National Monument
New information in regards to the existence of these pre-Colombian roads reveal that the population, economic and political organization of Costa Rica's Caribbean was much more advanced than originally thought. With only 4 hectares (10 acres) presently explored by archaeologists, Guayabo seems to have been a center for commerce, linked to the rest of the country by stone roads. Reaching its zenith of development some 500 years prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, there is no evidence as yet as to the reasons for the downfall of that society.
Tours to Guayabo are readily available from the capital city and if your clients decide to travel on their own, there are 4 daily departures on public bus routes from Turrialba. Your clients should be advised that the park offers no restaurants, nor are they available nearby. Clients who rent a car should be advised that while the roads are in good condition to Guayabo, the last 10 kilometers require a four wheel drive vehicle.
The Guayabo National Monument has picnic area, visitor information center, well marked trails, restrooms and even an area for camping. Local guides are available for hire during the early morning hours.
People and Society 
