Salitral

About Salitral:

Salitral is the second district of Santa Ana and has been one since the canton was created in 1907. It covers 20.3 square kilometres in the south of the canton, with Santa Ana centre to the north, the canton of Escazú to the east, Mora to the south, and the districts of Uruca and Piedades to the west. Route 311 climbs the three kilometres from Santa Ana centre and ends in the village, and the Santa Ana–Salitral bus runs the same road between the Santa Ana terminal and its last stop near Bar La Fuente. Route 27 and the offices of Lindora lie beyond Santa Ana centre, down the hill, so that drive is part of daily life here.

The district was settled by families who came over from Escazú, among them Timoteo González, Lucas Mora and Ignacio Carpio Sandí. Its name comes from the Fuente del Salitre, a mineral spring that the Ortega family used from 1944 to make soft drinks; the fountain you see today was built as a municipal project in 2010. The church, the parish hall and the EBAIS clinic on Route 311 make up the centre. On the farms in Salitral and Matinilla coffee still grows alongside fruit trees and pasture, and at weekends people drive up for the trails: Montañas de Cariblanco in Matinilla opens paths through coffee and forest to the La Angelita waterfall, hikers leave their cars beside the Salitral church for the long routes over the hills, and La Casona de Micaela serves Costa Rican food in Pabellón, 700 metres from the wind farm.

The land rises from about 1,000 metres at the village to the 1,800-metre ridge, and it is steep for most of the way. The Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú, created in 1976 and extended in 1983 across six cantons, covers the upper part of the district, and any private land inside it falls under the forestry regime. The slopes are also unstable in places. In late 2010 Tropical Storm Nicole set off a slide on Cerro Chitaría that sent debris down the Quebrada Canoas into Calle El Curio, in barrio Los Montoya, and weeks later the Tapezco and Pittier streams forced families out of their homes in Matinilla. The names on addresses are Alto Raicero, Chirracal, Matinilla, Pabellón, Perico, Montoya, Robalillo and parts of Quebrador and Paso Machete; up at La Ventolera, the name tells you how hard the wind blows.

Salitral has grown slowly. It had 898 people in 1892 and 2,049 in 1984, and the 2011 census counted 4,304, a fraction of the growth that filled Pozos over the same years. The buyers who come from outside want land and privacy within reach of Santa Ana and Escazú: families building one large house among trees, people buying a quinta with a view of the valley, and investors picking up properties that already have two or three units let. Water comes from AyA, which treats it at a plant in Salitral and has been reinforcing the network along Calle Chirracal.

Houses in Salitral:

The typical house for sale is big and set on a lot of 2,000 m² or more: four or five bedrooms, often on one level, with lawns, fruit trees and plenty of parking. A few small gated residences of a dozen or so homes add security and a shared entrance. Further up, especially around Pabellón, houses sit on mountain properties of one hectare or more reached by paved road. The houses for sale in Salitral also include village homes on smaller lots near the church, and some properties carry two or three separate houses that are rented out, which suits a buyer who wants income from day one. Asking prices for the larger homes are in US dollars.

Land and Lots in Salitral:

Land is the main thing Salitral sells. In gated estates such as Hacienda Salitral, a development of just 14 properties with one controlled entrance, quintas run to around 7,000 m² with views of Cerro Tapezco and the valley. Because that estate lies inside the protective zone, only 10% of each lot may be built on. Ask for the equivalent figure on any parcel inside the zone. Higher up there are fincas of one to eleven hectares with coffee, fruit trees, secondary forest and long views over the Central Valley. When a finca for sale in Salitral is advertised with development potential, treat that as a question to put to the municipality and the environmental authorities, not a fact.

Rentals in Salitral:

Rentals here are mostly houses and apartments let by local owners: a small house with a garden for a couple, a three-bedroom family home, or an apartment with a large garden. Those aimed at local tenants are quoted in colones. Tenants tend to be people who work in Santa Ana, Lindora or Escazú and want quiet and a garden. For anyone without a car, rentals in Salitral close to Route 311 are the practical choice, since the Santa Ana–Salitral bus runs along it to the Santa Ana terminal.

FAQ:

• Can I build on a lot inside the Zona Protectora Cerros de Escazú?

  Often yes, but on a small part of it and only with permission. Private land inside the protective zone is under the forestry regime, so building, clearing or changing the land use needs approval from SINAC, and the municipality sets its own limits on top; one gated estate in Salitral allows only 10% of each lot to be built on. Ask the Municipality of Santa Ana for a land-use certificate issued under the plan regulador in force since 5 October 2026 before you agree a price.

• How do I check a property for landslide risk before I buy?

  Start with where it sits. The Tapezco slide above Matinilla and the 2010 slide on Cerro Chitaría both sent debris down the streams toward homes, so ask the municipality whether the parcel falls inside a mapped hazard area and look at how close it is to a quebrada. Have an engineer look at cuts, retaining walls and drainage on any sloping lot. Then compare the folio real and the plano catastrado at the Registro Nacional (Registro Inmobiliario) so the land you walked is the land on the title.

• How far is Salitral from Santa Ana centre and Route 27?

  The village is three kilometres up Route 311 from Santa Ana centre, and that road ends in Salitral. From Santa Ana you reach Route 27, Lindora and Escazú on the valley floor. Properties higher up in Matinilla or Pabellón add a further climb, so drive the route yourself before you settle on an address.

• Who supplies water in Salitral?

  AyA runs the public supply and has a treatment plant in the district. Higher fincas and properties at the end of side roads are not always connected, so ask for the water availability in writing. If a finca relies on its own spring, check that the use of that water is legally authorised before you count it in the price.

• What is there to do in Salitral?

  Walking is the main draw. Montañas de Cariblanco in Matinilla opens its coffee and forest trails at weekends, longer hikes start beside the Salitral church, and the Ventolera lookout faces out over the valley. In the village you can see the Fuente del Salitre, the spring the district is named after, and La Casona de Micaela in Pabellón serves Costa Rican food near the wind farm.