Driving Instructions for Pozo Azul

Sarapiquí is located only 90 minutes from San Jose , It´s a route of great natural beauty leading to Hacienda Pozo Azul: the road to Puerto Limon.You will find in Sarapiquí a strong commitment to conservation, exemplified by organizations like the OTS (Organization of Tropical Studies) and Tirimbina Foundation. Hacienda Pozo Azul lies at the very heart of Sarapiquí, bordering the OTS and Tirimbina, as well as the Sarapiquí River , and at the forest reserve of the Braulio Carrillo National Park , where conservation ranks as top priority. Hacienda Pozo Azul is 1hr 20min from Fortuna in Arenal, and 2 Hrs 20 Min from Puerto Limon.

From San Jose

The road #32 to Puerto Limon, taking the exit at road (#4 ) to Puerto Viejo, and then 26 km to La Virgen. ( total 90Km ; 54 miles)

by the canyon of the Sarapiquí River, followed by 10 km on road #4 to La Virgen.( total 70Km ; 42 miles)

From Arenal Volcano:

Take route #4 from Fortuna, to Monterrey, then to the road crossing at Muelle,, continuing on to Aguas Zarcas, then to Venecia, San Miguel , and to La Virgen driving time : 1 hour 20 minutes ( 82 Km: 49 Miles)

From Puerto Limón

Take route #32 to San Jose for 65 MIles and exit at road #4 to Puerto Viejo of Sarapiquí for 26 Miles to La Virgen: 2 hours 20 Min.

Some information to make your trip to Hacienda Pozo Azul from your point of origin more enjoyable and interesting is given here.
Some interesting historical tips will make the short trips lighter, and we hope you will find it interesting.

The Braulio Carrillo National Park road to Hacienda Pozo Azul

The then president of Costa Rica Mr. Braulio Carrillo in 1870 started a road to Limon crossing the impenetrable mountains just north east of San José to communicate the central plateau with the Atlantic coast in an effort to colonize this rich area. The difficulty of the topography postponed the building of road #32 for 110 years. Today you will comfortably enjoy the magnificent spectacle of nature in this road.

As soon as these road was built, the whole area, unexplored at the time, was declare a national Park and President Carrillo was honored by naming the park after him.

The Braulio Carrillo National Park is the second largest park with over 112,000 acres, covering central volcanic range and a corridor going from 32meters to 2900 meters high (100 to 9,700ft high) and crossed by the road to Puerto Limon #32 of the same name as the park.

After crossing the tunnel at Cerro Zurquí you will find to your right Quebrada González Range Station, the only authorized place to walk on the park and a very special place for bird watching since bird species from low lands and high lands converge here.

Continuing on down you will pass trough the Aerial Tram, another special place to visit and tour the tree canopy. Soon you will cross the Sucio River , worth stopping if you are driving to see from the bridge where two rivers of different colors converge on a impressive and large river bed, witness to large flash flows and some impressive scene filmed on the movie Congo .

As soon as you reach the low lands at Restaurant Roberto's you turn left and continue for 26 Miles on road #4 which follows the perimeter of the Braulio Carrillo Park going through Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí ( do not confuse with Puerto Viejo de Limón). And on to La Virgen de Sarapiquí home of Hacienda Pozo Azul located right at the bridge.

Road from Arenal to Hacienda Pozo Azul

This road serves the Northern Planes and is used to carry all exporting products from the northern Valley to Puerto Limon to be shipped abroad; specially pineapples, concentrated orange juice and cassava and other edible roots. Pineapples is the most important export product from this area, Costa Rica is today the second largest Pineapple exporter in the world, only second to Philippines exporting the very popular Gold Pineapple, up to recently exclusive of Del Monte, and basically produced in Costa Rica.

Large part of this road was build in built in the 1980's during the communist government in Nicaragua as a strategic infrastructure in case of communist expansion plans.

At any rate it gave the region a jump start development in 10 years, besides the road, you will understand why!. This privileged and bathed by volcanic ashes through the Eons, along with the abundant sun and water makes it so productive. Along the road you will see on the south the central volcanic range making the trip a very scenic one.

Leaving Fortuna you will soon reach El Tanque (6.5 Km), here turn left towards Monterrey for another 2 Km were you will find road #4 to Limon, turn right and follow this road for the next 79 Km (47 Miles) passing through several cross roads, the first is at El Muelle, follow by the cross to Pital, at 42.5 Km from fortuna. Here you turn right( South) towards Aguas Zarcas , you will have reach 1600 ft altitude and start seen a concentration of dairies, continuing on to San Miguel through Venecia and Rio Cuarto were you start going down again to Hacienda Pozo Azul in the village of La Virgen.

Road from Puerto Limon

You will use this road if you are coming from Puerto Limon, The Tortuguero area or the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama . Starting form Puerto Limon this road, #32 will take you through banana country, , cattle, pineapple , and the world renown EARTH University and on to the city of Guápiles , soon afterwards and as the road starts climbing towards San José, you take route #4 towards Puerto Viejo (de Sarapiquí) for 26 miles and on to La Virgen ( home of Hacienda Pozo Azul)

On the way to Pozo Azul you will cross a series of rivers which collects the crystal clear waters from the central volcanic range showing the wonderful and plentiful water resource of this area.