Quitirrisí
Real Estate in Quitirrisí, Costa Rica.
Once a year the quitirrí, the shrub that gives this place half its name, covers the hills south of Ciudad Colón in yellow flowers. Quitirrisí is the seventh district of Mora, in San José province, Costa Rica, and its boundary was drawn in 2014 around the Huetar indigenous territory of the same name. That makes this a different kind of page. There are no houses, lots or rentals here on the open market, and there will not be. What you get instead is the place itself, from the craft shops on the Puriscal road to the trail up Cerro El Guaco, and a pointer to the neighbouring districts where homes and land do change hands.
About Quitirrisí:
Quitirrisí sits in the middle of Mora canton, with Colón to the north, Piedras Negras to the northwest, Jaris and Guayabo to the west, Tabarcia to the south and Santa Ana canton to the east. Ruta 239, the road from Ciudad Colón to Puriscal, climbs straight through it. The first craft shops appear about 5 km south of Ciudad Colón, some 22 km from San José. Buses on the Ciudad Colón–Puriscal line stop along the road, Ruta 209 also crosses the district, and drivers from the capital reach Ciudad Colón on Ruta 27 before turning south.
The district was created by Law 9269 in September 2014 and carved out of Colón and Tabarcia so that its limits would follow the Quitirrisí indigenous territory. The territory is older than the district. An executive decree set it up in 1976, it was first marked out as an indigenous settlement in 1979, and a new decree in 2001 redrew it at around 2,700 hectares. Today the district covers 26.6 km² at a mean elevation of 1,140 metres and takes in the communities of San Juan, San Martín, Quebrada Honda, Cañas and El Guaco, while Alto de Quitirrisí is the name traffic reports give to the high stretch of the 239.
This is hill country at the western edge of the Central Valley. The walk up Cerro El Guaco starts in Ciudad Colón and gains about 400 metres over 8 km, past coffee plots, with views back over San José, Alajuela and the Escazú hills and out toward the Pacific. Some of the old coffee land has grown back into secondary forest. With luck you will see aracari toucans and motmots on the way up.
Fewer than 2,000 people live in Quitirrisí. The Huetar language died out long ago, so daily life runs in Spanish. Most visitors know the district for its fibre work: baskets, hats and other pieces woven from grass, palm and plant fibre and coloured with natural dyes, sold alongside medicinal plants from local growers. Only a few families still grow maize and coffee, and many residents commute to jobs in the city. Rancho Biriteca, a family project on a former coffee farm, runs workshops on stone-ground maize, clay and cacao for schools and universities, and the Festival Cultural Huetar in December brings dance, marimba, a craft barter table and football played in rubber boots.
Property in Quitirrisí:
All of Quitirrisí lies inside an indigenous territory, and that settles the property question. Under Indigenous Law 6172 of 1977, article 3, the land is inalienable, non-transferable and reserved for the indigenous community: non-indigenous people may not buy, rent, lease or otherwise acquire land or farms here, and any such deal between indigenous and non-indigenous parties is void. The rule covers the whole district, whether the property is a house, a lot or a working farm. For ordinary sales and rentals, look next door. Colón, with Ciudad Colón as the canton’s main town, lies just to the north, Tabarcia to the south, Guayabo, Jaris and Piedras Negras to the west, and Santa Ana canton across the eastern boundary.
FAQ:
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Can I buy a lot or a house in Quitirrisí?
Not if you are not indigenous. Every parcel in the district belongs to the Huetar territory, and a purchase by an outsider has no legal effect, whatever a seller or a private contract may say.
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Could I rent a place here for a few months?
No. The law that rules out sales also rules out renting and leasing to non-indigenous people. For a longer stay on this stretch of the 239, Ciudad Colón and Tabarcia are the nearest places to rent.
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Is there anything a visitor can do in Quitirrisí?
Yes. You can buy baskets and other fibre work from the craft shops along the Puriscal road, book a workshop at Rancho Biriteca, walk up Cerro El Guaco from Ciudad Colón, or come for the Festival Cultural Huetar in December.
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I am buying just outside the district. What should I check?
Ask for the cadastral plan, look the property up at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario), and then confirm that it falls outside the territory boundary as the 2001 decree redrew it. This matters most for parcels in Colón, Tabarcia, Guayabo, Jaris or Piedras Negras that border Quitirrisí, so have a surveyor or lawyer compare the plan with the official limit before you sign.