Liberia Sights and Landmarks Guide, Costa Rica

Liberia, the Guanacastean city of Costa Rica, is more popular as a ‘gateway’ to other destinations in Costa Rica than a tourism heaven in itself. As such, Liberia is just a few hours’ journey away from famous Costa Rican attractions and cities like the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Papagayo peninsula,Tamarindo, Volcano Arenal and the likes. The Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (the second international airport facility set up in Costa Rica after the Juan Santamaria International Airport, San Jose) also enhanced the importance of Liberia as an entry-way.

Having said all this it has to be admitted that Liberia is not just a point of transit, the city has its own charm being partly a ranching area and a modern-city in part. You will definitely like the views of the large-sized cattle farms with its folks dressed in cow-boy attire and being the torch-bearers of the sabanero-culture. If these conjure up scenes from Clint Eastwood movies, you will also like the contemporary-aspect of the city with its parks, shopping arcades and food malls, etc. What’s more, Liberia does promise some ‘sightseeing’ and ‘tourism’, albeit short – in fact, you will be done visiting the Liberia sights in just half-a-day; visitors usually prefer doing Liberia sightseeing in between tours to other destinations or on rest-days.

Liberia Sights – Cultural Attractions

The city center is the right place to start your tour of various Liberia sights for there are many interesting things to see and do here. The Iglesia Immaculada Concepcion de Maria deserves to be your first stop in the city center. The church is a good example of clear-cut, unadorned modern architectural style. The church is frequented by the Nicaraguan grackles. Just opposite the church is the famous Parque Central. The city center is famous for its shops, restaurants and food stalls and you can always enjoy your favorite bite while you go about sightseeing.

La Agonia, the city’s oldest church is a little distance away from the city center.

As such, the city gives you a good taste of the sabanero culture, but for greater awareness and understanding, you can visit the Museo Ecologico del Sabanero. The museum not only throws light on cowboy culture but even on local agricultural practices, vegetation, etc.

Liberia Sights – Natural Attractions

Costa Rica is famous for its many national parks and Liberia is no exception – it has the Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja in its vicinity. The National Park houses an active volcano by the same name and has a number of hot-springs, mud-pits and water-falls. The parkland is home to a wide variety of fauna including apes, birds, butterflies and puma-cats, etc.

Liberia’s other natural attraction is the Playa del Coco beach – a beach that derives its name from the unique cocoa-colored sand.