Monumento Nacional Guayabo is a mystery for the ages – the remnants of a vanished agricultural civilization that may have wielded political control over the Orosí Valley between 1000 BCE and 1400 CE and left only stone mounds as a record of their existence. This pre-Columbian city has fascinated historians and archaeologists ever since its excavation in 1891.
What's Left Behind
The primary reason to visit Guayabo is to see the traces of a long-gone civilization. Aqueducts, drawer tombs, roads, stone-hewn storage tanks and the famous mounds paint a fascinating though incomplete story of a thriving civilization far removed in the forest.
Archaeologists suspect that the mounds were initially used as primitive home foundations, and the sophisticated aqueduct and storing systems supplied fresh potable water. The drawer tombs were carved directly into rough flagstone, and buried roads connected the whole system.
You can explore the ruins by yourself, and read plaques speculating on what the structures were used for, still coming away with a sense of wonder about Guayabo's significance.
Flora & Fauna
The path from the entrance to the ruins is well-marked and brief, but you'll have a chance to check out some impressive flora and perhaps even spot some fauna. The area is a riot of blooms like camarillo, orchids and fragrant magnolias, all enveloped in deep-green leaves that make the colors pop even more.
Toucans and woodpeckers nest nearby, while rabbits, pizotes (coatis) and tropical lizards are often scuttling around on the ground. These creatures remind us that, while humans come to Guayabo to connect with their past, it has been largely reclaimed by nature.
