Sarchi
- Address:Highway 118, Sarchi
- Admission:Free
8:31 PM Sunday, May 27
Broken clouds. Mild.
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The capital of Alajuela province, Sarchi is renowned for its arts and crafts, in particular its decorative oxcarts recalling the heyday of Costa Rica’s coffee industry.
Lying almost 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level in the Cordillera Central, the whole of Sarchi is devoted to crafts, from woodworking and leather goods to textiles.
The most famous handicrafts are known as carretas, the ornately painted carts that have proved so popular as Costa Rican souvenirs over the years.
While you’re here, tear yourself away from browsing the stores to visit the lovely church, with its wooden carvings. The gardens in front feature an oversized, brightly painted oxcart.
The drive to Sarchi is part of the appeal of this popular day-trip destination, leading past coffee fields, pineapple farms and landscape dotted with volcanoes, villages and rainforest.
Latest Reviews All Sarchi Reviews »
Great trip! I confirmed a week before and received an email the next day confirming the pickup time. A van arrived with a driver and bilingual guide. The drive from San Jose to the volcano took about 1 hour 20 minutes. Along the way the guide was very friendly and talked about Costa Rica. It's not much of a hike to see the volcano, easy 10 min walk from the parking lot. After viewing the volcano we drove 10 minutes to Doka Estates for the coffee tour - excellent, samples of coffee and chocolate covered coffee beans, butterfly garden, and great buffet lunch with local costa rican food. Sarchi tour is ok, stop at the workshop where oxcarts are made, 15 minute presentation, and then we had 45 minutes to browse the souvenir shop. Overall, it was a great deal through Viator.
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This tour was superb! The Poas Volcano was beautiful! We enjoyed the coffee tour at Doka Estate as well. The Sarchi Arts and Crafts were remarkable! We recommend this tour!
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Guide was very informative about coffee. I felt that we had ample time to ask questions and explore Grecia and Sarchi.
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The town of Sarchi lies on the slopes of the Cordillera Central, 45 km (28 miles) north-west of San Jose.
