Damas

About Damas:

Damas covers about two and a half square kilometres at 1,180 metres on the northern side of Desamparados canton. San Antonio lies to the north, Gravilias to the west and Los Guido to the south, and the eastern edge is the canton line with La Unión, in Cartago province. National Route 212 is the spine of the district. It comes in from central Desamparados over the bridge on the río Damas, passes the entrance to the national fire academy and carries on towards San Antonio and Patarrá. Autotransportes San Antonio runs the Fátima – San Antonio – San José buses along it, and the San José – Desamparados – Dos Cercas line serves the San Lorenzo side.

The district was split from Patarrá in 1968 and is the tenth of the canton’s thirteen districts. It has two sectors. Fátima takes in Calle del Cura, Calle a San Antonio, Llanos de Monteverde, Nazaret, Misión Bíblica and Villas Don Alfonso. San Lorenzo groups Calle Díaz, Dorado, Dos Cercas, Fomentera, Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza, Residencial San Lorenzo, Urbanización Suecia, also known as Cajita, and the eastern part of Lomas de Salitral. Dos Cercas carries some weight locally: it was the name of the whole settlement before the parish of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados, founded in 1825, slowly gave the town its present name.

About 13,000 people share close to 3,800 homes here, so the district is closely packed and almost entirely residential. Its big open space is the Villa Olímpica, built by the municipality and the central government on a large lot near the Loma de Salitral. Inside are the Estadio Jorge Hernán “Cuty” Monge, a synthetic-turf ground for more than 3,500 spectators that first-division clubs have used as home, the Jesús “Tuto” Jiménez gym, the Claudia and Silvia Poll pools and a covered fairground. Every Saturday from five in the morning until two in the afternoon, farmers from around the country set up the Feria del Agricultor there.

The río Damas is the natural feature a buyer should keep in mind. In May 2022 a rise in the river forced the emergency commission to open a shelter for a family in Desamparados, and the municipality has worked with the CNE on clearing its course. In May 2025 the national roads council shut the old Route 212 bridge over the river because of structural damage and installed a modular bridge as a provisional crossing. Damas suits someone who wants a family house close to central Desamparados with a direct bus to San José, or an owner who plans to add a unit to rent.

Houses in Damas:

Most houses sit on small lots, often between 100 and 200 m², and many have grown to two or three floors. A two-storey house of about 220 m² on a 133 m² lot in San Lorenzo, a short walk from the CTP Dos Cercas and the Villa Olímpica, is the kind of home that comes up. So is a narrow 5 by 20 metre lot in Barrio Fátima carrying three floors split into independent apartments. When you compare houses for sale in Damas, set the built area against the lot and ask for the approved plans of every unit before you count on rent.

Condominiums in Damas:

Fátima has several private residentials with a gate and security at the entrance. Houses inside range from compact three-bedroom homes of about 90 m² on lots near 136 m² to four-bedroom houses of about 240 m² on 200 m² lots. Find out whether the development is a registered condominium, with its own rules and monthly fee, or an ordinary residential where neighbours pay the guard between them. That changes who maintains the streets and green areas.

Rentals in Damas:

Most rentals are flats. You will see upper-floor two-bedroom units inside residentials such as Llanos de Monteverde, and one-bedroom apartments with a sitting area, kitchen counter and shower room built beside a family house. Whole houses with three bedrooms and a garage come up less often. Apartments for rent in Fátima suit people who work in Desamparados or San José and want the Route 212 buses close by. Agree in writing who pays water and electricity.

Land and Lots in Damas:

Vacant land is scarce in a district this built up. What appears is usually a flat lot of about 200 m² inside a private residential, or an older house sold for its plot. Now and then a large parcel with mixed residential and commercial use is offered in Fátima de San Lorenzo, several thousand square metres with street frontage, and that interests developers more than families. Get the municipal land-use certificate for the exact lot before you pay anything.

FAQ:

• Is Fátima the same place as Damas?

  Yes. Damas is the official name of district ten of Desamparados, and Fátima is what most residents and many sellers call it. San Lorenzo and Dos Cercas are sectors of the same district, so a house advertised under any of those names may be in Damas. Read the district on the cadastral plan to be sure, because the Fátima name also turns up in neighbouring Los Guido, whose parish church is Nuestra Señora de Fátima.

• Which municipality do I deal with for a lot near the La Unión line?

  The eastern edge of Damas is the boundary with La Unión canton, and the Monteverde barrio straddles it. A lot that feels like Fátima on the ground can fall under La Unión for permits, land-use rules and property tax. Pull the title and cadastral plan from the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), check the canton written on them, and ask that municipality for the land-use certificate. If the lot backs onto the río Damas, ask too about the protected strip along the bank, where you cannot build.

• How do I get from Damas to San José without a car?

  By bus. Autotransportes San Antonio runs the Fátima – San Antonio – San José route along Route 212, and the San José – Desamparados – Dos Cercas line goes through central Desamparados. Check which of the two passes closer to the house you are looking at.

• Is the Route 212 bridge over the río Damas open?

  Yes, on a modular bridge that went in after CONAVI closed the damaged structure in May 2025. That bridge was put in as a provisional crossing, so ask locally whether a permanent replacement is planned, since the works would affect the main road into Fátima.

• Which schools are in the district?

  Primary pupils have the Escuela Ciudadela Fátima and the Escuela Dos Cercas. The Colegio Técnico Profesional Dos Cercas, in San Lorenzo, offers specialities such as accounting, banking and finance, digital development and architectural drawing, and the Colegio Virtual Marco Tulio Salazar has a campus there too. The district also has the Escuela de Educación Especial San Felipe Nery.