Heredia Canton

 county, second-level administrative division, draw only border

Heredia is a city located in the Heredia province of Costa Rica and is the capital of that province. It is currently undergoing a rapid process of industrialization and is located 10 kilometers north of the country's capital, San José.

The city is home to one of the largest colleges in Costa Rica, the National University of Costa Rica, that accepts many international students.


Heredia has been made popular by its sprawling free zone office complexes that have attracted hundreds of new English speaking employees to international companies like Abbott Labs, Alcatel, Arthrocare, Exactus, Intaco, Intertec, L3, Medex Medical, Pfizer, PPC Industries, Roche, Syngenta, Wal Mart, Westar Medical, Hewlett Packard, DHL and satellite offices for Intel's big manufacturing facility in neighboring Belen. This town is on the outskirts of San Jose and offers all the green areas and views Costa Rica is famous for with all the local flavor and a variety of housing options from inexpensive simple homes to multi-million dollar mansions.
Heredia is nice and cool as you go higher up into the mountains, in areas such as El Castillo, home to the beautiful, La Condesa Hotel and several upscale residential developments in San Rafael and Barva. This area is located 25-30 minutes from San Jose and offers a beautiful rural environment with plenty of homes and lots available.
Belén is one of the small towns in the province of Heredia and is famous for the Intel microprocessor production facility and the North American style Cariari Country Club housing development and located approximately five miles north of San Jose, this neighborhood has as its centerpiece, the Cariari Country Club, with its beautiful golf course. Located just off the highway from Juan Santamaria International Airport, you can find many top hotels here including Melia Cariari, the Ramada Herradura as well as good restaurants and the American International School. This is a great high-end neighborhood. Just across the highway is Real Cariari- a major shopping mall with a great merry-go-round inside. Just to the west of the Cariari subdivision is San Antonio de Belen. More commonly known as Belen, this is a laid-back town that has experienced rapid growth since Intel built their huge microprocessor plant in 1996 and before that Panasonic and Kimberly Clark opened manufacturing plants here. You can also find a variety of housing available here in all price ranges as well as the luxurious San Jose Marriott Hotel. Belen consists of three primary villages, La Ribera where the Marriot Hotel is located, La Asunción, which is near the expressway that connects the international airport to the capital of San Jose and San Antonio, the center of the community where the municipal government offices are located. You can view photos at; groups.google.com/group/belen-costa-rica/web