Ruinas de Ujarrás
Cartago Province, Costa Rica · 9°49′48″N 83°50′60″W
The stone shell of Costa Rica's oldest church, built in the 1690s and abandoned after floods in 1833, standing in a lawn of coffee bushes above the Cachí reservoir.
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Limpia Concepción was built by Spanish settlers and Huetar labour between 1686 and 1693 in a mix of stone and lime, one of the only colonial buildings in the country. Floods and epidemics drove the village to relocate in 1833, and the church was left. Its façade, walls and window arches stand in a maintained park; the roof and interior are gone.
The Orosi valley loop, with the 1743 church at Orosi and the Cachí dam, makes a good day from Cartago.
Why it stays quiet
Costa Rica's visitors come for volcanoes, cloud forest and beaches; colonial ruins are not on the list. Locals picnic here on Sundays; weekdays are quiet.
Where it is
Before you go
Free entry, open daily. Small café on the road. Combine with Lankester botanical garden.
Updated 2026-09-06 · Suggest a correction
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