Montezuma, Costa Rica
Encyclopedia
Montezuma is a town in Puntarenas Province
, Costa Rica
which began as a remote fishing
village
and has gained popularity since the 1980s among tourists on a budget.
Montezuma is located near the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula
, 41 km (25.5 mi) southwest of Paquera and 8 km (5 mi) south of the town of Cóbano. Most services are in Cóbano.
The town features a mix of local residents as well as foreign backpackers and eco-tourists who come for the beaches, rivers, and scenic waterfalls that surround the village. The nearby Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
draws a large number of visitors to the area.
Montezuma has well-known healing arts
and yoga
communities and is also well known among filmmakers and artists from across the world who flock there every November for the annual Costa Rica International Film Festival - Montezuma. Attendees experience days of film screenings, special dinners, parties, a street party with fire dancers and other performers and day trips to nearby waterfalls, beaches, islands, canopy tours, and much more.
There is a non-profit organization, Proyecto Montezuma, where tourists can support a local free English school by booking tours and services. The office is located in Montezuma central and a good place to find tourist information about Montezuma and the surrounding area. You can surf at Playa Grande, sign up for Spanish classes and volunteer. If you want to get more involved with the local community, you can join PROYECTO TEFL, an internationally-recognized English Language Teaching Certificate course that takes place every month in Montezuma central.
The center of Montezuma consists almost entirely of accommodations, restaurants, and souvenir shops. For those who are looking for something to do at night, Chico's Bar offers different music and dancing nightly. The crowd is a great mix of the beautiful locals and visitors from all over the world. There is no bank and no post office in Montezuma (although there is an automated teller machine
that works at certain times when there is not a huge crowd in town).
Puntarenas Province
Puntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
which began as a remote fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and has gained popularity since the 1980s among tourists on a budget.
Montezuma is located near the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula
Nicoya Peninsula
The Nicoya Peninsula is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and lies in the Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approximately long, and forms the largest peninsula in the country. It is known...
, 41 km (25.5 mi) southwest of Paquera and 8 km (5 mi) south of the town of Cóbano. Most services are in Cóbano.
The town features a mix of local residents as well as foreign backpackers and eco-tourists who come for the beaches, rivers, and scenic waterfalls that surround the village. The nearby Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve
Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve
The Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve is a Nature Reserve of Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area in the province of Puntarenas, covering an area of terrestrial and marine on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula near Mal Pais....
draws a large number of visitors to the area.
Montezuma has well-known healing arts
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
and yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
communities and is also well known among filmmakers and artists from across the world who flock there every November for the annual Costa Rica International Film Festival - Montezuma. Attendees experience days of film screenings, special dinners, parties, a street party with fire dancers and other performers and day trips to nearby waterfalls, beaches, islands, canopy tours, and much more.
There is a non-profit organization, Proyecto Montezuma, where tourists can support a local free English school by booking tours and services. The office is located in Montezuma central and a good place to find tourist information about Montezuma and the surrounding area. You can surf at Playa Grande, sign up for Spanish classes and volunteer. If you want to get more involved with the local community, you can join PROYECTO TEFL, an internationally-recognized English Language Teaching Certificate course that takes place every month in Montezuma central.
The center of Montezuma consists almost entirely of accommodations, restaurants, and souvenir shops. For those who are looking for something to do at night, Chico's Bar offers different music and dancing nightly. The crowd is a great mix of the beautiful locals and visitors from all over the world. There is no bank and no post office in Montezuma (although there is an automated teller machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
that works at certain times when there is not a huge crowd in town).
Further reading
- Lonely Planet Costa Rica ISBN 1-74059-118-6
- B&B Map Costa Rica Road Map ISBN 3-89707-510-5
- "the Montezuma map and guide"--available free from paraisopublicidad.com - also in the home office in downtown Montezuma