Quepos () 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 canton of

Quepos Quepos () is a districts of Costa Rica, district of the canton of Quepos (canton), Quepos, in the province of Puntarenas Province, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Toponymy The town is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the place in the colo ...

, in the province of

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas (canton), Puntarenas canton of Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which is made from the Puntar ...

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 ...

Toponymy

The town is named for the native Quepo Indians who inhabited the place in the colonial era.

History

The area was home to the native Quepoa people of this specific Costa Rican region. In 1563, Spanish Catholic

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

es, led by Juan Vázquez de Coronado, settled the area and founded the settlement of San Bernardino de Quepo. The local native Quepo people were then subsequently subjugated by Juan Vázquez and his conquistadores. In 1746, the Quepo people that remained were transferred to a reservation which already contained another native ethnic group. Quepos offers fishing for numerous varieties of fish, especially Pacific Sailfish. Peak fishing season is from November to April for billfish.

Geography

Quepos has an area of km² and an elevation of metres. The town is about 60 km. south (in a straight line) from Costa Rica's capital, San José, but is 157 km from that city by road if going through the localities of

Atenas Atenas () is a district of the Atenas canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Its urban area is referred as Atenas city. Toponymy Its name means Athens ''(Αθήνα)'', the capital of Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', offici ...

, Orotina and

Tárcoles Tárcoles is a district of the Garabito canton, in the Puntarenas 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 Americ ...

Villages

Administrative center of the district is the town of Quepos. Other villages are Anita, Bartolo, Boca Naranjo, Cañas, Cañitas, Cerritos, Cerros, Damas, Delicias, Espadilla, Estero Damas, Estero Garita, Llamarón, Llorona, Managua, Manuel Antonio, Marítima, Mona, Papaturro, Paquita, Pastora, Quebrada Azul, Rey, Ríos and Roncador.

Demographics

For the 2011 census, Quepos had a population of inhabitants.

Transportation

Road transportation

The district is covered by the following road routes: * CR RNP 34

National Route 34 * CR RNS 235

National Route 235 * CR RNT 616

National Route 616 * CR RNT 618

National Route 618

Economy

Quepos is the gateway to

Manuel Antonio National Park Manuel Antonio National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio) is a small national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos, Puntarenas, and from the nation ...

. The city is very tourism-oriented, having many bars and restaurants and a vivacious night-life. Quepos is well known thanks to being the gateway to a popular National Park and beaches in Costa Rica. Several years ago the country's park service imposed limits on the number of visitors to the park (600 per day, and it is closed on Mondays).

Climate

Quepos has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(Am) with moderate to little rainfall from January to March and heavy to very heavy rainfall in the remaining months.

References

External links

* Districts of Puntarenas Province Populated places in Puntarenas Province {{CostaRica-geo-stub