Guanacaste Province of Costa Rica

Some Facts

Cantons

History

The province of Guanacaste is filled with touristic, folkloric and other attractions. Several famous battles took place in this province: The Santa Rosa battle, that defeated William Wlaker on March 20th in 1856. The principal activities next to tourism of this province is cattle farming and rice farming, there are also important sugar cane-, as well as cotton- and bean plantations. There were also mine exploitations especially in Abangares.

There are many National Parks such as the Guanacaste National Park, Palo Verde National Park, and places like the Barra Honda Caverns and Volcano Rincón de la Vieja etc.

Before the Spanish arrived, this territory was inhibited by Chorotega Indians form the town of Zapati, Nacaome, Paro, Cangel, Nicopasaya, Pocosí, Diriá, Papagayo, Namiapí and Orosi. The Corobicies lived on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Nicoya and the Nahuas or Aztecan in the zone of Bagaces.

The first church was built out of straw in Nicoya in the 17th Century. At the end of 1824 beginning 1825 the territory of Guanacaste annexed to Costa Rica, because nobody exactly knew to where they belonged, the inhabitants decided by their own will to be part of Costa Rica.

In the 18th Century some neighbors of Rivas established their houses and cattle farms in the northern part of the Nicoya Peninsula at crossroads that connected the towns of Bagaces, Nicoya and Rivas. The place was baptized after a famous Guanacaste tree that grows in the neighborhood.

The 25th of July 1824 the town people of Nicoya and Santa Cruz decided to join Costa Rica. In 1836 the town of Guanacaste was declared capital of Guanacaste. Until 1854 the name was changed to Liberia. If you want to know why. Read about it in the chapter of Liberia (Click on the map above).

The Guanacaste Tree

The Cantones of Guanacaste

Provinces of Costa Rica