Bijagua Community

Bijagua Community

Bijagua is a small rural town located between Cañas and Upala in the province of Alajuela near the border with the Guanacaste Province. The population of the local area is about 5000 people who are mainly employed in agricultural activities. A river (Rio Bijagua) runs through the town and it is located between Miravalles Volcano and Tenorio Volcano.

Services Available

Bank (Banco Nacional) with ATM facilities
Two Supermarkets and many pulperias (small supermarkets)
Five internet cafes (with photocopy, fax and international calling facilities)
Pizza Restaurant, Fried Chicken cafe and three sodas (small restaurants)
Medical and Dental clinic
Bus connections to San Jose, Cañas and Upala
Car repair shops and hardware stores
Police office
Clothes shops
Public phones with international call facilities
Petrol available (although there is no large gas station)

Come and visit two local cooperatives and support the community!

COABI (Cooperativa Atesanas Bijagüeñas)
Bijagua Cooperative of Artesias. This is a group of local women who create beautiful handicrafts and souvenirs. They sell their wares in small shop located on the road to Heliconias Lodge and Rainforest.

COOPEJUBI (Cooperativa Juvenil Bijagüeña)

COOPEJUBI (Bijagua Youth Cooperative) is a group of around 20 self motivated enthusiastic youth from Bijagua who have come together to form a cooperative focused on environmental issues, especially climate change. COOPEJUBI has created a program of plating trees and works with more travel agencies and individual tourists to promote and support carbon neutral tourism. COOPEJUBI is a legally registered as a non profit cooperative which has operated in various forms since 2003. Some of COOPEJUBI’s members are employed or have been employed at Heliconias Lodge and Rainforest. You can volunteer with COOPEJUBI, see our volunteers pages. COOPEJUBI has planted over 4500 trees in the Biological Corridor between Miravalles and Tenorio Volcanoes, established ongoing relationships with travel agencies giving tourists the opportunity to engage in carbon neutral tourism and built a greenhouse with 2500 native tree seedlings and maintains a seed bank.

Annual Events

Fiestas Bijagua: Held Annually in April the fiestas raise money for the local community and include a traditional horse ride, hose competition, rodeos and fiestas in central Bijagua. A great spectacle and insight into Costa Rican culture!

April                     – Juan Santamaría’s Day.
1 May                   – Labour Day.
25 July                – Guanacaste Annexation.
2 August             – Virgin of Los Angeles, Feast of Patroness of Costa Rica*.
15 August           – Mothers’ Day and Assumption.
15 September   – Independence Day.
12 October         – Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day)*.
25 December     – Christmas Day