Nicoya

Nicoya is one of Costa Rica's oldest colonial towns, the historic heart of the Guanacaste region and a place with deep indigenous and Spanish roots. Named for a Chorotega chieftain, it sits inland on the peninsula that bears its name and offers a gentler, more traditional face of the country than the nearby beach resorts.

Its centerpiece is the Church of San Blas, a whitewashed colonial church dating from the seventeenth century, one of the oldest in Costa Rica. Set on the shaded central park, it survived earthquakes and rebuilding and now doubles as a small museum of religious art, its simple lines a reminder of the region's long faith.

Nicoya has drawn worldwide attention as a Blue Zone, one of a handful of places on Earth where people live unusually long, healthy lives. Researchers credit a diet built on corn, beans and squash, hard work, strong family ties and the mineral-rich local water, and the town has become associated with the study of longevity.

The surrounding region rewards exploration. The Nicoya Peninsula is famous for its Pacific beaches and surf towns, and the town itself makes a cultural base away from the coast, with local sodas serving traditional Guanacaste cooking and a lively marketplace. Nearby lie the caves of Barra Honda National Park and the ranching traditions of the Costa Rican interior. Reaching Nicoya is straightforward by road, and it works well as a stop between the capital region and the peninsula's beaches. The town is at its liveliest during Guanacaste's festivals and the dry season from December to April, when warm, rain-free days make it easy to explore the church, park and countryside around this historic community.