# La Palmera District, San Carlos Canton, Alajuela Province

> Source: https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/la-palmera/

District · San Carlos Canton 

# La Palmera

La Palmera is a district of Costa Rica in San Carlos Canton, Alajuela Province. It had an estimated **7,828 people** in 2021 on 100 km² (about 78 per km²). 24 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 35 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools.

- 7,828people (2021)
- 100km²
- 35mapped services
- 289 mtypical elevation

## How many people live in La Palmera?

La Palmera had an estimated **7,828 people** in 2021 — 3.9% of San Carlos Canton, 226th of 472 districts. There are 941 women for every 1,000 men (below the San Carlos Canton figure of 957). Spread over 100 km², that is about **78 people per km²**, 283rd of 472 districts.

23.0% of people are children under 15 and 7.4% are 65 or older; the median age is about 31 years (it is 29 across San Carlos Canton). For every 100 people of working age (15–64) there are 44 children and older people.

0–4 ****578**

5–9 ****618**

10–14 ****608**

15–19 ****617**

20–24 ****690**

25–29 ****695**

30–34 ****740**

35–39 ****637**

40–44 ****521**

45–49 ****458**

50–54 ****419**

55–59 ****369**

60–64 ****296**

65–69 ****231**

70–74 ****147**

75+ ****204**

Source: [Costa Rica National Statistics Office (NSO) via OCHA HDX, population 2021 (COD-PS, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ps-cri).

## Where is La Palmera?

La Palmera lies in [San Carlos Canton](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/), [Alajuela Province](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/), [Costa Rica](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/). It borders 7 other districts: [Aguas Zarcas](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/aguas-zarcas/), [Brisas](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/zarcero/brisas/), [Cutris](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/cutris/), [Florencia](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/florencia/), [Palmira](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/zarcero/palmira/), [Quesada](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/quesada/) and [Toro Amarillo](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/sarchi/toro-amarillo/). By area it is the 158th largest of 492 districts in Costa Rica. It covers 3.0% of [San Carlos Canton](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/alajuela/san-carlos/). The centre of La Palmera is about 57 km in a straight line from San José, the capital. The centre point is at 10.3661° N, 84.3674° W.

Source: [Costa Rica National Statistics Office (NSO) via OCHA HDX, administrative boundaries (COD-AB, CC BY-IGO)](https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cod-ab-cri).

## Things to see in and around La Palmera

OpenStreetMap lists 3 named sights in La Palmera: 3 attractions.

- Bio Termales Hot Springs · attraction
- Termales Agua Hermosa · attraction
- Termales La Cascada · attraction

### Nearby, outside La Palmera

- Termales del Bosque · attraction, Quesada1.5 km
- Juan Murillo hillock · volcano, Aguas Zarcas4.6 km
- Sendero Cascada de las Nubes · waterfall, Quesada6.6 km
- Buenos Aires hillock · volcano, Venecia7.1 km
- Volcán Platanar · volcano, Quesada7.6 km
- Vuelta de Kopper hillock · volcano, Aguas Zarcas8.5 km
- Barrantes hillock · volcano, Aguas Zarcas8.8 km
- Valle Hermoso hillock · volcano, Aguas Zarcas9.6 km
- Catarata San Vicente · waterfall, Quesada10 km
- Parador Fotográfico Venecia · attraction, Venecia10 km
- Museo La Carreta · museum, Venecia11 km
- Los Chiles Hill · volcano, Aguas Zarcas11 km

Source: [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright).

Named attractions, museums, viewpoints, historic sites and natural features mapped in OpenStreetMap. Places of worship are not listed.

## Know before you go: La Palmera

- Time zoneUTC−6, no daylight saving · America/Costa_Rica
- CurrencyColon (CRC)
- Country calling code+506
- LanguagesSpanish, English
- Plug typesType A, B · 120 V
- Driving sideRight
- Postcode format5 digits (#####)

### Nearest airports

- La Fortuna Arenal Airport (FON) · La Fortuna26 km
- Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) · San José (Alajuela)45 km

### Daylight

Days are longest in Jun (about 12.7 hours, sunrise around 05:15) and shortest in Dec (about 11.5 hours, sunrise around 05:46, sunset around 17:18).

Source: [GeoNames country and time-zone files (CC BY 4.0)](https://www.geonames.org/); [Wikidata (CC0) — plug types, mains voltage, driving side; retrieved 2026-11-03](https://www.wikidata.org/); [OurAirports (public domain)](https://ourairports.com/data/).

Airports with scheduled passenger flights; straight-line distances. Daylight is calculated for the 15th of each month in local standard time. Check entry and visa rules with official government sources before travelling.

## Villages and localities in La Palmera

Open gazetteers list **24 villages, towns and localities** in La Palmera. Settlements here lie between about 103 m and 791 m above sea level (median 289 m).

- Alturas
- Corea
- Corte
- Damas
- El Dorado
- La Loma
- La Marina
- La Marinita
- La Montaña
- La Palmera
- La Unión
- Lomas
- Los Rojas
- Los Ángeles
- Lourdes
- San Francisco
- San Rafael Norte
- San Rafael Sur
- Santa Rosa
- Selva
- Surtubal
- Unión
- Vaca Blanca
- Villa María

Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/); [© OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract — named settlements](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright).

## Landscape and landmarks of La Palmera

Named natural and historic features inside La Palmera, from the GeoNames gazetteer.

### Water

9 rivers and streams; 1 lake.

- Laguna Pozo Verde
- Quebrada Agria
- Quebrada Balsar
- Quebrada Bus
- Quebrada Grande
- Quebrada Palmerita
- Quebrada Paloma
- Quebrada Salada
- Quebrada Zapotal
- Río Ceiba

Source: [GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — settlements, natural and historic features](https://www.geonames.org/).

Places of worship are not listed. Elevations are from the GeoNames terrain model and are approximate.

## Weather in La Palmera and the best time to visit

Using the climate of San Carlos Canton, the warmest month is Apr (average 24 °C) and the coolest is Jan (21 °C), after allowing for this place being about 160 m higher than the climate reference point (about 6.5 °C per 1,000 m). About 1,604 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (283 mm) and the driest Feb (22 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **December to April**.

- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec

Month Average °C Rain mm 

Jan 21 34 

Feb 22 22 

Mar 23 26 

Apr 24 60 

May 24 195 

Jun 23 183 

Jul 23 153 

Aug 23 177 

Sep 23 233 

Oct 22 283 

Nov 22 178 

Dec 21 60 

Source: [NASA POWER climatology, retrieved 2026-10-29](https://power.larc.nasa.gov/).

## Nearest hospital, bank and fuel from La Palmera

Need Nearest mapped Distance 

Hospital Clínica CCSS Aguas Zarcas · Aguas Zarcas 3.7 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37787&mlon=-84.33549#map=17/10.37787/-84.33549) 

Bank Banco Popular · Aguas Zarcas 2.8 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37518&mlon=-84.34363#map=17/10.37518/-84.34363) 

ATM BCR · Florencia 15 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.36009&mlon=-84.50894#map=17/10.36009/-84.50894) 

Petrol pump Servicentro La Marina · La Palmera 1.6 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37786&mlon=-84.37523#map=17/10.37786/-84.37523) 

Hotel El Tucano Resort & Thermal Spa · La Palmera 1.5 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.36574&mlon=-84.38156#map=17/10.36574/-84.38156) 

Mall Centro Comercial La Marina · La Palmera 1.7 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37926&mlon=-84.37477#map=17/10.37926/-84.37477) 

School Escuela Calle Damas · La Palmera 1.4 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.36724&mlon=-84.35422#map=17/10.36724/-84.35422) 

College INA - Unidad Regional Huetar Norte · La Palmera 1.5 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37600&mlon=-84.37666#map=17/10.37600/-84.37666) 

Police station Delegación Policial Aguas Zarcas · Aguas Zarcas 3.3 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.37921&mlon=-84.34032#map=17/10.37921/-84.34032) 

Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/).

Straight-line distance from the centre of the division, within 40 km.

## Hospitals, banks and other services in La Palmera

Places mapped inside La Palmera in open map data, by type.

- Petrol pumps1
- Hotels8
- Shopping malls2
- Schools10
- Colleges and universities2
- Restaurants12

Source: [Overture Maps places (CDLA-Permissive-2.0) and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)](https://overturemaps.org/).

Coverage depends on what has been mapped; contact details are not shown.

## Other districts in San Carlos Canton

- Aguas Zarcas
- Buenavista
- Cutris
- Florencia
- La Fortuna
- La Tigra
- Monterrey
- Pital
- Pocosol
- Quesada
- Venado
- Venecia

## Quick answers

- Where is La Palmera?In San Carlos Canton, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica
- What is the population of La Palmera?7,828 (2021 estimate)
- What is the median age in La Palmera?About 31 years (2021 estimate)
- What is the population density of La Palmera?About 78 people per km²
- What borders La Palmera?Aguas Zarcas, Brisas, Cutris, Florencia, Palmira, Quesada and Toro Amarillo
- What is there to see in La Palmera?Bio Termales Hot Springs, Termales Agua Hermosa, Termales La Cascada
- What time zone is La Palmera in?UTC−6
- What currency is used in La Palmera?Colon (CRC)
- What language is spoken in La Palmera?Spanish, English (main languages nationally)
- How many villages are in La Palmera?24 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap)
- What is the elevation of La Palmera?Settlements lie between 103 m and 791 m
- What is the best time to visit La Palmera?December to April
- Where is the nearest hospital to La Palmera?Clínica CCSS Aguas Zarcas, about 3.7 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest bank to La Palmera?Banco Popular, about 2.8 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest ATM to La Palmera?BCR, about 15 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest petrol pump to La Palmera?Servicentro La Marina, about 1.6 km from the centre
- How many petrol pumps are in La Palmera?1 mapped
- What is the P-code of La Palmera?CR21009 (OCHA common operational dataset)