Most People (myself included), come to Jaco for one thing; Beaches. But that doesn’t meant there’s nothing else to this touristy haven. In fact, whilst in Jaco I had the chance to escape the tourist traps (sort of), and survey the city from above in a (sort of), un-tourist-packed-and-troupe-filled-place-pura-frickin-vida (an 100% real, not made up on the spot word you’ll come to appreciate when visiting Jaco). Here, I’ll give you a short guide on how to get the same.

Getting There: We took an Uber from Max X Menos which was 3500 colones at the time . It looked like the buses for/from Playa Hermosa go close by, so you can ask for a stop wherever you feel comfortable and confident getting to the trail head. 

The Trail: At the start of the trail there’s a restaurant called El Miro Restaurante, and a couple guys selling fruit and water. As is often the case in Costa Rica, the water was quite expensive but the fruit was cheap and as usual, super tasty. We bought 5 bananas for 500 colones (about 1 dollar) and they were just the thing to re-energize us. 

There are a couple maps along the trail to help you out along the way, though for the most part there’s only one trail. You’ll start by heading up a gravel road for a couple minutes before a sign announces “vehículos no permitidos” and the road promptly turns to a dirt path. Keep up this main path for a , and you’ll make it to the first viewpoint. As nice as the view is, don’t end your hike here. Rest up, take your pictures, and then continue on towards the real deal. For the next section of the hike you’ll be walking along a wall decorated with these beautiful engravings of local wildlife, and some more confusing stuff too, which I still can’t decipher.

There will be a point when the road splits between the wider dirt path you’re on and a narrower footpath. At this point make sure to take the footpath. A few minutes after this, you’ll reach an open space where two paths lead out from. The one looks like a normal hiking path will take you further up but away from El Miro. The other path is flanked by an old stone bannister, a couple minutes on this path and… El Miro.

The View: And what a view it is! We emerged onto what seemed to have once been a fancy landing with stairs on either side, a bit like the one in Titanic (remember, this is a ruined old mansion). Before heading down the stairs to explore the seedy looking remains of the place, we had to get some pictures with the picture perfect backdrop of Playa Jaco and the natural framing of the reaching vines and trees. 

The Ruins: After drinking in the view for a while, we headed down the still sturdy stairs into the mansion. It did look like somewhere you wouldn’t venture in after dark, but at the time it was quite cool seeing the different rooms and the wacky murals which now decorated their walls. Be careful here, as they’re no barriers on the edges like there are upstairs. 

Then we head down. This part is really quite uneventful, as it’s just the way up backwards. 

Once we were down, we ordered an Uber to our next stop; Playa Hermosa.

If you liked this article be sure to subscribe to my site for more like it (and better). If you didn’t like this article or think I can do better, please please leave any feedback in the comment section. I love to learn from my mistakes. (if you just think I’m a horrible writer and should give up, definitely tell me in the comments. so that I can clap back at you more than take criticism (*insert emoji which isn’t available on wordpress)).

Pura Vida!!!