Cañas

Introducing Cañas

If you’re cruising north on the Interamericana, this is the first town of any size (population 25, 000) in Costa Rica’s driest and dustiest province, Guanacaste. Sabanero culture is evident on the sweltering and quiet streets, where full-custom pickup trucks share the road with wizened cowboys on horseback, fingering their machetes with a swagger you just don’t see outside the province. It’s a typically Latin American town, where everyone walks slowly and businesses shut down for lunch, all centered on the Parque Central and Catholic church – which are most definitely not typical.

Although the town is popular with truckers looking for a cheap bed, travelers prefer nearby Liberia since it’s more geared towards tourists. However, there are a few interesting sights in otherwise uninteresting Cañas worth checking out. It’s also a good base for organizing rafting trips on the nearby Río Corobicí or for exploring Parque Nacional Palo Verde.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009