El Miro is located in the tourist town of Jaco, Costa Rica. It’s only at the top of a very long trail that will take you up the side of a mountain. The views along the way, and all the way at the top, are amazing and well worth the journey.
Finding The Trail
You will locate the entrance to the trail at approximately the corner of Calle Madrigal/Costenera Sur. On your map you will find PuddleFish Brewery at the corner. There is on street parking on Calle Madrigal, as well as some limited parking on the west side of the main road.
Costanera Sur is a very busy road, which is the main corridor along the Pacific Coast. Be very careful when crossing, especially with children, as motorists and trucks will be coming off a hill from the south.
You’ll first find a juice stand at the bottom, which has limited hours but amazing smoothies and fresh juices. If you decide to grab a drink before your hike, there are garbage cans along the trail for disposal.
On The Way Up
Once you start heading up the trail, you’ll first pass by building on the left. This building is called Villa Mariposa, it’s orange and hard to miss. Continue along a little farther and there are some winding trails with great views of the trees and hill to your sides. You’ll eventually reach a wide location on the path with an opening to the trees in the valley. This is where you’ll have an easy time seeing monkeys if there around at that day and time.
Another hundred meters or so up the hill, and you’ll reach a lookout point. This location has some seating areas to rest, and will afford you a really great view of Jaco and the beach below.
Continuing on, there’s amazing inscribed paintings on the retaining wall. This part of the trail becomes a bit steeper, so be sure to have water and some snacks. Depending on the amount of rain, the trail around this part may be slightly muddy or even flowing with water.
You’ll reach a fork on the path, where if you continue you’ll be heading towards Playa Hermosa. If you decide to continue on foot to Playa Hermosa, you can expect a very long walk. The pathway runs for quite some distance, and will deliver you to a road which is very high above Playa Hermosa. If you plan on this walk – come prepared.
If you continue a little farther up the hill you’ll reach El Miro.
At The Top
The path to El Miro is very distinguishable, you’ll see a fork in the path from the Hermosa branch, with another route heading steeply up volcanic rock. Head up this short run and it will level off quickly into El Miro.
El Miro is a three story abandoned building with amazing views, cool graffiti and lots of great architecture. The rumor is that a local family was building it as a house, when one of them passed away. Thus, the project was abandoned while only beginning to take form.
The entire walks up the hill at a brisk pace is about 15 minutes. With kids or dogs, expect at least 30 minutes. There’s a local horse tour that also heads up the hill as well, you can find these horses on the beach at the bottom of Calle Madrigal.
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