The city of Alajuela, capital of Costa Rica’s province with the same name, is the second biggest city in the Central Valley after San Jose. In fact Costa Rica’s International Juan Santamaria Airport is located in the city of Alajuela, 25 kilometers away from San Jose. In stead of the hectic urban city life of Costa Rica’s capital, you can find a more relaxed provincial atmosphere in the city of Alajuela only minutes away from the airport. Surrounded by coffee plantations, sugar cane and pastures, the city of Alajuela is the center where agricultural products are traded on the weekly Saturday market. In the 16th century after the first settlements formed in the Cartago region, people started to move westwards and founded Heredia. In the 18th century this town had grown and many other villages erupted westwards. The distance to Heredia did not allow the colonist to attend mass without difficulties. Therefore in 1782 a new parish was formed, uniting several villages under the name ‘La Lajuela’, later compacted to Alajuela. Because of its isolated location Alajuela did not start to grow substantially until the middle of the 20th century. The easiest access to Alajuela was provided by the rivers that flow east, through the Northern Plains of Costa Rica, towards the border of Nicaragua. This is the reason that most of the initial colonists were actually coming in from Nicaragua. Alajuela has been the official capitol of Costa Rica for a period of one year between 1834 and 1835. Tourist attractions in Alajuela are the Cathedral, the Central Park with its mango trees and the Juan Santamaria Historical Museum in the former city jail. This museum is dedicated to the Costa Rican national hero Juan Santamaria, who was born in Alajuela. For bird lovers who don’t want to wander through the woods trying to spot the rare quetzal the Zoo Ave near Alajuela is a good choice where 115 species of birds (including the exotic quetzal), 20 species of mammals and 14 species of reptiles are on display. Near Alajuela in La Guacima the Butterfly Farm offers an interesting tour. Beginning with a film documentary about the lifecycle of tropical butterflies, you will be introduced to the secrets of butterfly exportation and be able to photograph colorful species of butterflies in the netted gardens. The city of Alajuela offer a wide range of hotel accommodations, restaurants, shops and bars. It’s an excellent base camp for day trips to the Poas volcano, the towns of Grecia and Sarchi, coffee plantations or the Los Chorros waterfalls.