Los Chiles is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Los Chiles Los Chiles is a district of the Los Chiles canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. History Los Chiles was originally settled by fishermen and others who worked on the nearby Río San Juan in Nicaragua. It was granted the title of "ciu ...

canton, in the

Alajuela Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it i ...

province of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

History

Los Chiles was originally settled by fishermen and others who worked on the nearby Río San Juan in Nicaragua. It was granted the title of "ciudad" (city) by a law of May 4, 1970. During the 1980s, it was a strategic location on an important supply route for the

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...

fighting to overthrow the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

government in Nicaragua, and during that time military men from the United States were a common (albeit illegal) sight on the streets on the town.

Geography

Los Chiles has an area of km² and an elevation of metres. It is on the San Carlos Plain (Llanura de San Carlos) in northern Costa Rica, 14 kilometers southeast of San Carlos in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, 97 kilometers northwest of

Ciudad Quesada Quesada is a district of the San Carlos canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. It is the head city of the canton of San Carlos. Although Ciudad Quesada is the official name, it is commonly referred to by the area name of San Carlos. Ci ...

, 175 kilometers from the provincial capital city of

, and 198 kilometers from the national capital city of San Jose.

Demographics

For the 2011 census, Los Chiles had a population of inhabitants.

Transportation

Road transportation

The district is covered by the following road routes: * CR RNP 35

National Route 35 * CR RNS 138

National Route 138 * CR RNT 760

National Route 760

Airports

Los Chiles is served by

Los Chiles Airport Los Chiles Airport is an airport serving the town of Los Chiles in Alajuela Province, Costa Rica. The runway is on the east side of the town, and is southeast of the Nicaraguan border. The Liberia VOR-DME (Ident: LIB) is located west-southwest ...

, a grass runway on the east side of town.

Economy

Los Chiles is a "border town," only four kilometers from Nicaragua. The vast majority of the population of the city was born in Nicaragua. The Río Frío, on the western edge of town, is a major thoroughfare used to access small villages and farms in the surrounding area. The town is also an agriculture and sportfishing center. A gas station is located here, the only one for 20 kilometers in any direction, and a civil guard checkpoint is on Highway 35 south of town. There is a bank and a few basic restaurants and cabinas for lodging.

Tourism

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is a Wildlife refuge, part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in the northern part of Costa Rica twenty kilometers south of Los Chiles near the border with Nicaragua in the Alajuela province. The refuge is a w ...

: a watery lowland of lush sloughs and marshes, a seasonal lake, and abundant wildlife. Boats can be hired at Los Chiles for traveling the 23 kilometers down the Río Frío to Lake Caño Negro inside the reserve. The area is a birdwatcher's paradise. Tours to Caño Negro from La Fortuna and the Arenal Volcano area come by bus to Los Chiles, where visitors then board canopied boats for the trip down the Río Frío to the reserve. (29 kilometers southwest of Los Chiles via Highway 4 to El Parque, then west to San Emilio, and southwest on Highway 138 to Caño Negro) *

Solentiname Islands The Solentiname Islands () are an archipelago towards the southern end of Lake Nicaragua (also known as Lake Cocibolca) in the Nicaraguan department of Río San Juan. They are made up of four larger islands, each a few kilometres across, named, ...

: an archipelago in Nicaragua lake. These islands are home to fishermen, farmers, and many painters and crafters. They are reached from Los Chiles by traveling up the Río Frío to the city of San Carlos in Nicaragua, from where boats journey into the lake to the islands.

Climate

This area typically has a pronounced dry season. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Los Chiles has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

, abbreviated "Aw" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Los Chiles
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References

{{CostaRica-geo-stub Districts of Alajuela Province Populated places in Alajuela Province