Besides, much better and more interesting ways exist. The two-hour horseback ride from the lodge is a very pleasant way to travel through this rugged countryside. Between the city of Turrialba and the volcano lies Guayabo National Monument . This is the largest and most important archaeological site yet discovered in Costa Rica. The site, occupied between 1000 B.C. and A.D. 1400 by a rural community of around 2000 inhabitants, preserves causeways, mounds, walls, cisterns, petroglyphs, aqueducts and other structures.
Excavation continues at the site, discovered at the end of the last century.
Visitors walk trails through secondary growth forests where keel-billed toucans and Montezuma oropendolas are common sights among the prolific bird population. The center maintains ongoing research into sustainable agriculture and agroforestry systems. The graduate programs in sustainable agriculture and natural resource management attract professionals from around the world. The facility offers guided tours through extensive collections of tropical plant species that are being cultivated and protected as a genetic resource bank. Visitors to Costa Rica owe it to themselves to learn a little bit about the character of our volcanoes.