Guayabo National Monument

Guayabo National Monument Location in Turrialba, Costa Rica  Area 550 acres (2.2 km²) Established 13 August 1973.  National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC)

Guayabo National Monument is a national monument in the Central Volcanic Conservation Area in the Cartago Province of Costa Rica that covers the largest archaeological site in the country.

Still partly unexplored the area contains ancient bridges and dwellings, and petroglyphs have been found that are estimated at about 3,000 years old.

Guayabo is the ancient pre-columbian city lost to the dense tropical rain forests of Costa Rica Atlantic Coastal Region.  An ancient city complete the raised stone foundations, and amazing stone paved highways stretching possibly hundreds of miles.  It also contains unique ancient stone carvings of alligator, jaguar, insects, and incredibly complex petroglyphs. 

The people of Guayabo ingeniously engineered Pre-Columbian aqueducts where water still flows, and paved roads receding into a lush rainforest.  The tombs, and stone, pottery, jade, and gold artifacts reveal a Prehispanic  Costa Rican past far mistier than the cloud forests for which this land is famous known.  Guayabo is now a protected national park and open to tourist.