Looking for a short relaxing trip in San Jose, Costa Rica? Don’t want to drive too far?  Then head up to the Santa Ana Windmills farm, Its worth a visit.

This post has been updated on December 2018.

The Santa Ana Windmill, known as Parque Eólico Valle Central, is perfect for family and kids. This mountain is beautiful and sports excellent views. By far, this was the only mountain that did not require hiking. When we got there, we were fresh and enjoyed every moment spent.

Our Story:

We were having one of those lazy weekends. We got up late, had no clue where we could go after 12pm that allowed enough time to enjoy.  I started looking for a place close by, when I came across the windmill farm. There are a number of hiking trails that you can choose to do there, but we were very clear that we did not want to hike 😊

We waited for our friends to come home then started our mini trip. We were pleasantly surprised when Waze showed just 35 mins to destination 😉. As we reached the “Salitral” we realized that the road conditions were not great, and we might need a 4×4. We however, don’t own a 4×4, but our friends have a Honda Civic that has a L and S mode, so using that we chugged along 😊

We headed straight up the mountain, there are sign boards everywhere to guide you.

At 1 spot, we were totally confused, fortunately for us, a local saw our confusion and point us in the right direction.
When you see the spot show below in the picture, turn towards the right.

As we followed the path we could see the massive windmills up close, along with astounding views of the City of Escazu. The entry to the windmill farm is restricted, but there is an opening in the fencing leading to the fields near the farm. Stay low when you walk through, as there is a piece of barb-wire strung across the entrance. Don’t worry, you will not be breaking and entering 😉

In the fields were many couples and families with kids sprawled over the lush green grass. If you are sensitive to sun-burn, get sun-block as field has no shade. We hung out here for about 2 hours, basking in the sunshine and mild breeze just gazing at the beauty of mother nature.

 

 

Around 3pm we headed back down towards home.

How to Reach there?

This is a short ride from the center of Escazu, roughly 30 minutes. Once you hit Route 121 and follow it into Santa Ana, you will need to turn left at Calle Alvarado. Follow this route until you hit a T-Junction near a bar called Aritos and a coffee shop called Panaderia Las Lumbreras. Here you will turn right and follow the road all the way to the top. When you get to the top, the paved road will end at a fork in the road. You can see a few windmills at this spot. To see more you need to head towards the right but be careful as the road is bumpy.

About 500 mts from the junction, the tarmac starts up again. You can park here and cross over into the field.

Location:

Waze: https://waze.com/ul/hd1u0k0b3t
Google:

Words for the wise:

Start early if you want to see the sunrise or start at any time. You choose. Take your picnic basket. If you are headed up there early in the morning, grab something warm to wear, it gets cold. But if you reach there in the noon it’s a pleasant weather If you have a 4×4 use it. If not, makes sure you use a Manuel shift car or an automatic one that has a tiptronic gearbox. The road is beautiful but is steep. Going up in not much of an issue but coming down puts a lot of strain on your brakes, check them before you leave. There are few restaurants on the way up to this farm like La Cabanita and La Cocina de Micaela. So you can make a stop there if you are looking to eat local food. We did not really stop here as we live close by and did not need refreshments at the time.

About the Windmill:

This beautiful farm has a total of 17 wind turbines that produce up to 15.3 Megawatts of clean energy, enough to meet the energy needs of 9000 families 😊