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​My 5 top sights in Cartago, Costa Rica

September 4, 2022 | Tagged: Costa Rica

I rode the El Tren Interurbano out of Estación Atlántico and backpacked the former capital of Costa Rica, Cartago.
Top sights in Cartago, Costa Rica
And Cartago turned out to be quite a delight to backpack for a few hours.

Cartago was founded in 1563 by the Spanish Governor, Juan Vasquez de Coronado. It is the oldest city in Costa Rica and was the capital until 1823.

I rode the El Tren Interurbano out of Estación Atlántico to Cartago for 2 reasons.

In a former life, I was a trainspotter. We wore anoraks and had Ian Allen books in our pockets, where we'd put a line through each train as we saw them and to be honest, I still like to ride the trains!!

And the second reason I went to Cartago is that Costa Rica is one of the last countries in Central America to run a regular passenger service. It's a unique experience and I wanted to blog about it.
San Jose to Cartago by train
Having missed breakfast, I made a beeline for McDonald's. In my opinion, the only 2 good things about McDonald's are the cleanish toilets and the coffee. In all these years, the coffee has only left me dissatisfied, twice.
Coffee in Cartago
But alas, you are not here for the coffee stories.

So I'll skip the details.

My 5 Top sights in Cartago
​​

1. Ruins of Cartago

Since the Evangelical period, all buildings on this site were dedicated to the first patron Saint of Costa Rica, Santiago Apostle and each time, they were destroyed by earthquakes.
​
The ruins as they stand today, date from 1870. Destroyed in 1910 and never rebuilt
Las Ruinas de Cartago, Costa Rica
Las Ruinas de Cartago, Costa Rica
Las Ruinas de Cartago, Costa Rica
Las Ruinas de Cartago, Costa Rica

2. Plaza Mayor

The centrally located Plaza, opposite the Ruins of Cartago with the Monumento de La Independencia to mark 200 years 1821-2021 of Independence.
Cartago es Pura vida
Independence square in Cartago
Monumento de la independencia of Costa Rica
Picture

3. ​Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles - Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles is a Roman Catholic basilica, built in 1636 but was destroyed by several earthquakes and has been restored using a mix of colonial architecture as well as the Byzantine style.

​
The current building dates back to 1939.
Basilica de nuestra señora de Los Angeles
Basilica de nuestra señora de Los Angeles
Picture
Basilica de nuestra señora de Los Angeles
Basilica de nuestra señora de Los Angeles

4. Parroquia María Auxiliadora

I couldn't find any info on this one. Shame it was closed. I thought as a house of God, it would have been open 24/7?
Parroquia María Auxiliadora in Cartago

5. Convento de Los Capuchinos

The church dates from 1561, the year in which the first preachers arrived in Costa Rica to spread the Catholic faith across the country.
Convento de Los Capuchinos
Convento de Los Capuchinos
Convento de Los Capuchinos
Convento de Los Capuchinos
The schedule for the train is not so convenient so I rode the bus back to San José. Heavy traffic meant it took an hour. The fare was 680 CRC.

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​San José to Cartago by train | Costa Rica

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