Central Valley Attractions: Sarchi

Costa Rica's Central Valley has a lot to offer. Only an hour away is the quaint little town of Sarchi. Sarchí is Costa Rica's main artisan town. The colorfully painted miniature oxcarts that you see all over Costa Rica are made here. Oxcarts such as these were once used to haul coffee beans to market.

Today, although you might occasionally see oxcarts in use, most are purely decorative. However, they remain a well-known symbol of Costa Rica. In addition to miniature oxcarts, many carved wooden souvenirs are made here with rare hardwoods from the nation's forests.

The good thing about Sarchi is that one can visit the shops and admire the artists at work. Painting or carving delicate pieces featuring tropical designs ranging from birds to colonial settings, they use a wonderfully varied color palette. There are dozens of shops in town, and all have similar prices.

Aside from handicrafts, the other reason to visit Sarchí is to see its unforgettable church. Built between 1950 and 1958, the church is painted pink with aquamarine trim and looks strangely like a child's birthday cake.

Getting to Sarchi from San Jose:

About five buses leave San Jose for Sarchí from Avenida 3 between calles 16 and 18. Alternately, you can take any Grecia bus from this same station. In Grecia they connect with the Alajuela-Sarchí buses, which leave every 30 minutes from Calle 8 between avenidas Central and 1 in Alajuela. The fare is 75¢.