Purabá

About Purabá:

Purabá covers about six square kilometres on the northern side of Santa Bárbara, the fourth canton of Heredia province. Its head town is Zetillal, also spelled Setillal, at around 1,265 metres, and the district also takes in San Bosco, Lajas, Las Marías, Urbanización Los Girasoles and parts of Calle Quirós and Común. Ruta 127 leaves the centre of Santa Bárbara and climbs through Zetillal to San Bosco, where it meets Ruta 126, the road that links Heredia with Barva and Birrí. The church, shops and banks of Santa Bárbara are about ten minutes away by car, and the town itself sits some seven kilometres north-west of Heredia.

Until 1976 all of this belonged to Santo Domingo district; an executive decree of 2 September that year made Purabá the sixth and newest district of the canton. The land has always been worked, and the road from San Bosco towards Birrí still runs between coffee plantations, the way much of Heredia once looked. At Zetillal, the Las Marías estate keeps a working beneficio, the mill where coffee cherries are processed, alongside worker housing and a main house. Day to day, San Bosco has the Distrito Purabá commercial plaza and the EBAIS health post that serves the district, and there are a pharmacy, restaurants and corner shops; for banks and bigger errands, people head down to Santa Bárbara.

This is broken, hilly ground. Quebrada Setillal and the Ciruelas and Pacayas rivers cut through the district, and the national emergency commission places Purabá in a high-risk zone for landslides and flooding because of that terrain. The same slope is what gives so many properties their views. From the football pitch in San Bosco the Barva volcano stands in full view, and houses higher up look south across the Central Valley. Water supply has been a recurring local issue despite the springs and wells in the area, which is one reason some developments run their own well.

The population has nearly tripled, from about 2,000 people in 1984 to around 6,000 today. That growth has arrived as urbanizaciones, one small gated condominium and stand-alone houses on large lots, side by side with farms that are still in production. Three kinds of buyer show up: local families who want a house in an urbanización close to Santa Bárbara, foreign buyers after a gated home with mountain views, and people looking for a few thousand square metres to build on. In Condominio Mountain View, most of the residents come from the United States or elsewhere abroad.

Houses in Purabá:

The everyday house here is a two-storey family home on a lot of around 300 square metres, the kind found in Urbanización Los Girasoles: a garage for two cars, living and dining rooms opening onto a lawn, and three bedrooms upstairs. Condominio Mountain View is one of the few gated condominiums in the area. It has just ten houses, built in 2012 to an American design with an anti-seismic structure, plus a night and weekend guard, a backup generator and its own well. A three-bedroom house there sits on 389 square metres, with a broad terrace facing the mountains and the valley. At the top of the range, houses for sale in Purabá include larger homes on lots of 1,000 to 7,000 square metres, built around the view.

Rentals in Purabá:

Rentals are mostly whole family houses. A three-bedroom home in Los Girasoles, with a garden and space for a home office, suits a family that wants to try the district before it buys. Some of the larger properties include a separate studio that can be let on its own or kept as a guest house. Before you plan any short-term letting, check the condominium rules and what the municipality allows on that land.

Land and Lots in Purabá:

Land is what sets Purabá apart from the more built-up districts lower down the canton. Parcels of 2,000 to 7,000 square metres come up for sale, often with a paved road to the gate, perimeter fencing and the main utilities already connected. That is room for a house with a large garden, a guest house, or homes for two generations of one family. Slope decides how much of a lot you can actually use, so walk it in the rainy season, see where the water runs, and ask what the building platform will need in cuts and retaining walls before you settle on land for sale in Purabá.

Coffee Farms in Purabá:

Coffee is still grown around Zetillal, and the largest holdings come with their own infrastructure. The Las Marías estate combines a working coffee mill, worker housing, administration buildings and a main residence, with a second farm that adds more housing and storage. A property of that kind sells as an agricultural business as much as real estate. Any plan to change its use, whether hotel, residential lots or mixed use, has to pass the municipality’s zoning and the environmental rules on rivers and steep ground, so ask for the production records, water concessions and certifications along with the title.

FAQ:

• Is Purabá the same place as Zetillal or San Bosco?

  Both are inside it. Zetillal is the head town of Purabá district and San Bosco is the neighbourhood with the health post and the commercial plaza, so you will see all three names used for the same area. Calle Quirós and Común are split between Purabá and a neighbouring district, and what counts is the district shown on the cadastral plan. Purabá’s postal code is 40406.

• What should I check before buying land on Purabá’s slopes?

  Start with the ground itself. With ravines and rivers running through the district and a high landslide and flood risk rating, find out whether the lot borders a river or quebrada, where protection strips along the bank limit building, and consider a soil study before you commit. Then ask the Municipalidad de Santa Bárbara for a certificado de uso de suelo and confirm at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) that the cadastral plan and the registered property describe the same parcel.

• Is the water supply reliable in Purabá?

  Ask before you sign. The district has had problems with water distribution over the years, even with springs and wells nearby, and the canton has planned improvements to its network. Find out whether the house is on municipal water, whether it has a storage tank or a well, and whether wastewater goes to a septic tank.

• Which schools and health services are in the district?

  Purabá has three public primary schools: Escuela Don Bosco, Escuela Rodolfo Peter Sheider and the school at Calle Quirós. Secondary students usually go down to the Liceo de Santa Bárbara, or to high schools in Barva or Heredia. The EBAIS in San Bosco handles basic medical care for the district.

• Can I live in Purabá without a car?

  It is possible, but a car makes life much easier. Buses on the Heredia–Cinco Esquinas and Santa Bárbara–Chahuites lines stop near Calle Quirós. The stretch of Ruta 126 between San Bosco and Birrí has no sidewalks for most of the way and a section without street lighting, so it is not a road to walk after dark.