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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the canton of

Quepos Quepos () is a district of the canton of Quepos, in the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. 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 peop ...

, in the province of

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the 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 comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. A ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

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 (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es, led by

Juan Vázquez de Coronado Juan Vázquez de Coronado y Anaya (; 1523–1565) was a Spanish conquistador, remembered especially for his role in the colonization of Costa Rica, in Central America, where he gained a reputation for fairness, effective administration, and good ...

, 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, officially the Hellenic Repu ...

, Orotina and Tárcoles.

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 () 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 Province, Puntarenas, and from the national capital of San ...

. 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 subtype 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 {{Puntarenas-geo-stub