Turrubares

About Turrubares:

Turrubares was split off from Puriscal in 1920, and the canton still hangs on one main road. Ruta 137 climbs out of Santiago de Puriscal through Grifo Alto, then runs down through San Pablo, the cantonal seat, and on through San Pedro and San Juan de Mata to Orotina, where it meets Ruta 27 to San José and Caldera. Ruta 319 branches off it to link San Pablo with San Pedro, San Juan de Mata and the southern district of Carara. Carara, created in 2003 with the village of Bijagual as its head, is easier to reach from the coast: a turn-off near Tárcoles, then a steep unpaved climb that wants a high-clearance car and, in the wet months, four-wheel drive.

Farming still employs about a third of the people who work here. Coffee grows on the slopes of Cerro Turrubares, mango orchards spread across San Pablo, San Pedro and San Juan de Mata, and cattle, which share the cantonal shield with an orchard, are still part of the landscape. The Colegio Técnico Profesional Agropecuario in San Pablo has trained local farmers since 1974. Tourism is small and rural: hikes and horseback rides to the Bijagual waterfall, which drops close to 200 metres through private forest reserves, cabins on the rivers beside Carara National Park, and the Turu Ba Ri park in San Juan de Mata. Daily life in town centres on San Pablo, where the school, the colegio and the EBAIS clinic are a few hundred metres apart and the parish of San Pablo Apóstol grew from a hermitage first built in 1879.

The canton averages around 350 metres above sea level, but the ground is far from uniform, and that matters for what you can build. San Pablo and the hamlet of Bolsón sit on a remnant of flat volcanic tableland, and around San Juan de Mata the land opens into the gently rolling terrace that carries on into Orotina. Elsewhere the slopes are steep: along the Camarón river, around Purires, south-east of San Pedro and above the Tárcoles, the rock is deeply weathered and gives way easily. Heavy rain is when this shows, and Ruta 137 near Grifo Alto has been closed by landslides more than once.

Most residents live in small villages and on farms rather than in town, and Turrubares has the highest life expectancy in Costa Rica. Many quintas are bought as weekend places by families from the Central Valley, close enough for a Friday-night drive. A small number of North American and European retirees have settled for the quiet and for land that costs far less than in the cantons closer to the capital. In Carara, buyers are after forest, rivers and privacy next to the national park, or a cabin that can earn from visitors on their way to Jacó.

Houses in Turrubares:

The typical house for sale here is a quinta: a one- or two-storey country home on 5,000 square metres to a hectare, often with a pool, fruit trees, a rancho for barbecues and a view over the hills. Ages vary, from 1990s builds to homes finished in the last year or two. You will find them around San Pablo, in the Monterrey area, and on the roads out of San Pedro. Larger estates with a main house, a guest cabin and several hectares come up as well, and there are village houses on smaller lots in San Pablo and San Pedro. Anyone browsing quintas for sale in Turrubares should drive the access road after a heavy rain before falling for the view.

Land and Lots in Turrubares:

Land is the bulk of the market. Residential lots in and around San Pablo range from under 600 square metres to almost a hectare, including parcels in Bolsón where the seller offers financing. Fincas go much larger: fruit farms, pasture and forest from a couple of hectares to more than fifty, and the odd farm of over 100 hectares. The price per square metre is low by Central Valley standards, but much of the real cost of a lot here lies in the access, the slope, and bringing water and power to the building site. The flatter ground around San Pablo and San Juan de Mata is simpler to build on than a ridge parcel near Purires or above the Tárcoles.

Gated Quinta Communities in Turrubares:

Two gated quinta communities sit near San Pedro. Hacienda Los Manantiales is a restricted-access residential of 112 hectares divided into quinta lots and small fincas. Quintas Posada del Sol, two kilometres from San Pedro, has new-built houses on lots of more than half a hectare, with controlled entry and shared areas. For a buyer from outside the area, these solve the problems a loose rural parcel can bring: shared internal roads, one entrance, and a set of rules for everyone. Ask for the condominium regulations and fees, and check whether the internal roads and the water system are finished and handed over.

Rentals in Turrubares:

Long-term rentals are simple homes: two-bedroom houses in San Pablo within walking distance of the school, the colegio and the EBAIS, or a country house on a fenced lot. Short-term stays are a different business, centred on Bijagual and the river valleys of Carara, where cabins and small villas host birdwatchers near the national park and visitors to the waterfall, about 40 minutes from Jacó. Some quintas around San Pedro and San Pablo are bought with weekend rental income in mind. If you plan to rent out, test the road in an ordinary car first, and tell guests plainly when they need a high one.

FAQ:

• How do you get to Turrubares from San José?

  There are two paved routes. One takes Ruta 27 to Orotina and then Ruta 137 uphill through San Juan de Mata and San Pedro to San Pablo. The other goes through Ciudad Colón and Santiago de Puriscal and crosses the hills on Ruta 137 from the east, with more curves. Carara district and Bijagual are best reached from the coastal side, near Tárcoles.

• Does the rainy season cut access?

  It can. Slides have closed Ruta 137 between Puriscal and Turrubares near Grifo Alto during heavy rain, and the Orotina side has had its own blockages. The unpaved roads into Carara turn slow and slippery, and four-wheel drive is the safe choice there in the wet months. If a property is on a gravel spur, ask the neighbours how it behaves in October.

• What should I check before buying a quinta or finca in Turrubares?

  Start with the ground and the rules for using it. Turrubares has no plan regulador, so ask the municipality for a certificado de uso de suelo for the exact parcel before you commit, and on sloping land get a soil study, because the weathered hillsides here are prone to slides. Rivers carry protected strips where you cannot build, and parcels in the south may border Carara National Park. Then confirm the title and the plano catastrado at the Registro Nacional, and walk the fences against the plan before you sign.

• Can foreigners buy property in Turrubares?

  Yes. Foreigners can own titled land and houses in Costa Rica with the same rights as citizens, and residency is not required to buy. Some buyers hold the property through a Costa Rican company, which a notary can set up. The purchase is signed before a notary and registered at the Registro Nacional, as anywhere else in the country.

• Can you live in Turrubares full time?

  Most of the canton’s 6,000 residents do. San Pablo has primary schools, the agricultural technical colegio and an EBAIS clinic, and there are further secondary schools elsewhere in the canton, including rural liceos. Orotina, at the foot of Ruta 137, is the nearest larger town. The trade-off is space, quiet and the longest life expectancy in the country.