Liberia: the gateway to Costa Rica's Guanacaste

Capital of the Guanacaste Province, Liberia remains the most convenient starting point for the Pacific beaches and active volcanoes of the region.

A rental car is essential to explore the province.

The historic center of Liberia, known as the 'White City' for the limestone facades of its colonial houses, preserves well-maintained traditional Guanacastecan architecture.

A few minutes away, the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, with its still-active volcano, offers natural hot springs and bubbling mud fumaroles.

Heading toward the coast, you reach the beaches of Guanacastecan Pacific, including Playa Hermosa and Playa del Coco, popular for surfing and diving.

As evening arrives, nearby nature reserves offer opportunities to observe howler monkeys and iguanas in their natural tropical habitat.

Rincón de la Vieja National Park protects one of the few still-active volcanoes in Costa Rica accessible by hiking trails, with fumaroles and mud pools boiling at temperatures near boiling point.

Costa Rica generates over ninety-eight percent of its electricity from renewable sources, a distinction that makes Guanacaste Province one of the most renowned ecotourism destinations in Central America.