Experience the best of San Antonio de Belén

San Antonio de Belén lies in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, in Heredia province, a short distance from the city of Alajuela and the country's main international airport. The valley is a highland basin where coffee has been grown since the 19th century, and the climate is mild and spring-like. The volcanic ranges of Poás and Barva rise to the north of the town.

Poás Volcano National Park, with its wide steaming crater, is a drive up the mountain, and the highlands around Heredia, the so-called city of flowers, are dotted with coffee farms and small villages. The capital, San José, has the National Theatre and museums of pre-Columbian gold and jade. From the valley, the roads fan out to cloud forests, hot springs and both coasts.

Gallo pinto, rice and black beans fried together with onion and coriander, is the Costa Rican breakfast, and casados, plates of rice, beans, plantain, salad and meat, are lunch. The dry season runs from December to April, and the green season from May to November brings afternoon rain. Coffee is poured through a cloth filter called a chorreador, and a cup of it is the natural end to any meal.