The Turrialba Volcano & The City of Turrialba
The Name | The Volcano | The City
The Name
The name 'Turrialba' has much debate to its origin and not one single source can definitely be said to be the true source. Possible origins include coming from the patronym Torrealba, from Aragon in Spain, or from the Latin words Turris and Alba which means 'White Tower' or finally from one of the local Indian language of Huetar.
The Volcano
'Volcan Turrialba' as its known in Costa Rica is a stratovolcano that has been mostly quite since its last official eruption in 1866. However, in the last twenty years there has been some periods of minor activity including barely felt tremors in the town of Turrialba and some fumaroles activity in January of 2001.
In 1955 a 2km radius around the volcano was declared as national park. The summit of the Turrialba Volcano has three craters and is one of the few volcanoes in all of Costa Rica where hikers are permitted to descend into one of the volcano craters. The volcano trails and summit are typically much less visited by tourists and gives a much more wild and natural feel compared to other Costa Rican favorites such as the Irazu Volcano and Arenal Volcano . Views from the top, on a clear day, can include the surrounding volcanoes and rainforest and even as far as the Caribbean Sea.
The volcano sits in the Cordillera Central Mountain Range and is bordered by Volcano Irazu (near Cartago). The elevation of the highest summit of the Turrialba Volcano sits at 10,958 feet (3,340 meters) and it averages about only 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). For an assent of the volcano one would most likely start out traversing through sugar cane fields and then coffee plantation that sit near the base of the volcano. The fertile soil from the volcano supports one of the main agriculture areas of Costa Rica.Coffee plantations give way to rainforest which in then turns in cloud forest.Ferns, bromeliads, lichens and mosses and even bamboo would most likely be seen as well as a huge variety of tropical birds (84 different species can be found here) and 11 different species of mammals, including slothes.
Many different adventure activities can be enjoyed on the Turrialba Volcano including hiking, mountain biking, waterfall viewing and canyoning.The volcano boasts numerous streams and there fore many beautiful waterfalls cascading off, including the Aquiares Waterfall that sits just outside of the city of Turrialba near Santa Rosa. A series of waterfalls can also be seen while taking the road through Santa Cruz to Cartago. On sunny days you can find locals enjoying the fresh cool water cascading down.
The City
The Rio Turrialba joins the Rio Reventazon creating a mountain pass through the steep mountains and volcanoes of the Cordillera Central. In 1880s Turrialba started as a point along the 'Jungle Train' that made its way from Puerto Limon to San Jose and utilized this the mountain pass. The town sits below a volcano by the same name and quickly grew prosperous due to the coffee trade that utilized the path and the surrounding areas fertile soil. Things changed however in 1991 when the massive earthquake that destroyed Puerto Limon also badly damaged the rail system connecting Turrialba to the Caribbean coast. Because of the massive damage a new road was cut between San Jose and Puerto Limon around the opposite side of the grand Turrialba Volcano. The new highway became the major shipping lane and completely bypassed the town. Even though Turrialba was no longer a major stop along the route from the coast to the capital the population stayed relatively stable.
The city now claims approximately 70,000 residents with major industry being somewhat more varied but still relatively reliant on agriculture, specifically sugar cane and coffee. The city also boasts a baseball bat manufacturing facility and a small university.
The major draw for tourism to Turrialba is its easy access to possibly the best whitewater in Central America, but definitely at least Costa Rica, the Rio Pacuare (Pacuare River). Before the Rio Reventazon was dammed just outside of Turrialba, these two parallel rivers where the destinations of whitewater enthusiasts from across the world. Today the Pacuare still supplies Turrialba with thrill seekers and the town fills up with trucks carrying rafts and gear nearly every day, year round, between four and five in the afternoon.
Besides easy access to whitewater rafting, kayaking and duckies on the Pacuare, Reventazon and Pejivalle rivers the surrounding area is also great for mountain biking, waterfall exploration and sight seeing. Another interesting destination near Turrialba, besides the volcano, is known as CATIE, which stands for, Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza. This 1000 hectar area is one of the premiere areas in the world where research on tropical agriculture is done. Finally, just outside of Turrialba one of our favorite serpentariums are located. Here one can find all sorts of Costa Rican snakes including many different boas and even a few beautiful albino snakes.
Turrialba boasts a handful of good restaurants and the nightlife. The locals claim, year after year, they are recognized as being the town that can consume the most beer per capita and have the prettiest ladies in all of Costa Rica. The town has a central park where a stage is found and most nights something entertaining is happening there. The park sits across the street from the highest building in town, the Catholic church. A farmers market is found along one of the main streets every Friday and Saturday and features all sorts of fruits and vegetables that most North Americans never even knew existed.
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