Monumento Guayabo

An archaeological monument and national park located 30 minutes from Turrialba.  PSU students assist park staff with park maintenance duties. Monumento Guayabo is located on the slopes of Turrialba Volcano, 19km NE of Turrialba in the province of Cartago.

Guayabo is currently under investigation and is thought to have been inhabited from about 500 B.C. to 1400 A.D. Streets, aqueducts and causeways may have been seen, though most of the buildings have collapsed and have not been yet restored. Gold and stone artifacts have been discovered there. Archaeologists believe Guayabo was an important religious and cultural center, although minor compared to Aztec Inca or Maya sites.  Archeologists are working to protect archaeological structures such as causeways, mounds, bridges, catchment tanks, and pipelines, amoung others. It also protects high evergreen forests of the premontane rainforest.