Costa Rica’s geographical centre is home to almost two thirds of the country’s population – and it’s easy to see why. The buzzy capital city of San José, with its museums, restaurants and (handful of) pretty buildings puts firm ticks in the cultural and good food boxes, whilst the scrumptious landscapes of the Central Valley that lie just beyond offer residents and visitors the best of the Costa Rican outdoors. Spread out in a carpet of coffee farms and cloud forests, this central plateau is carved by tumbling rivers and gorges, and dominated by the peaks of Poás and Irazú volcanoes and their namesake national parks. There are excellent opportunities to hike through ravines, swim in the vivid waters of high-altitude calderas, wildlife watch and white-water raft on some of the world’s premier rivers, but this area also offers a window into the heart and soul of the country. It’s here that Spanish colonisers first settled, where the first coffee farms appeared, and where the country’s iconic painted oxcarts hail from. Markets offer up traditional cheese and steaming corn cakes, villages celebrate life in colourful fiestas, and for a visitor willing to linger, it’s a chance to find out what makes Costa Rica tick.