Barva de Heredia

Barva de Heredia Review

About 3 km (2 miles) due north of Heredia, this colonial town is famous for mask-making and for its Parque Central, still surrounded by the original adobe buildings with Spanish-tile roofs on three sides, and a white-stucco church to the east. The park is filled with whimsical sculptures, including a park bench shaped like an entire seated family, and bizarre masks and clown's heads decorating garbage receptacles. A new amphitheater and stage stand ready for the annual mask festival held every August. The stout, handsome church with terra-cotta bas-relief flourishes dates from the late 18th century and has a lovely grotto shrine to the Virgin Mary in the church garden. On a clear day you can see verdant Volcán Barva towering to the north.