# Santa Cruz District, Turrialba Canton, Cartago Province

> Source: https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/turrialba/santa-cruz/

District · Turrialba Canton 

# Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is a district of Costa Rica in Turrialba Canton, Cartago Province. It had an estimated **3,788 people** in 2021 on 130 km² (about 29 per km²). 26 named villages and localities are recorded here, and 36 mapped services such as hospitals, banks and schools.

- 3,788people (2021)
- 130km²
- 36mapped services
- 1,652 mtypical elevation

## How many people live in Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz had an estimated **3,788 people** in 2021 — 5.1% of Turrialba Canton, 336th of 472 districts. There are 975 women for every 1,000 men (below the Turrialba Canton figure of 990). Spread over 130 km², that is about **29 people per km²**, 377th of 472 districts.

20.3% of people are children under 15 and 10.9% are 65 or older; the median age is about 34 years (it is 34 across Turrialba Canton). For every 100 people of working age (15–64) there are 45 children and older people.

0–4 ****243**

5–9 ****272**

10–14 ****253**

15–19 ****255**

20–24 ****295**

25–29 ****317**

30–34 ****322**

35–39 ****283**

40–44 ****249**

45–49 ****225**

50–54 ****233**

55–59 ****229**

60–64 ****199**

65–69 ****152**

70–74 ****100**

75+ ****161**

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 Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz lies in [Turrialba Canton](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/turrialba/), [Cartago Province](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/), [Costa Rica](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/). It borders 10 other districts: [Capellades](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/alvarado/capellades/), [Florida](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/siquirres/florida/), [Guácimo](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/guacimo/guacimo/), [Guápiles](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/pococi/guapiles/), [Jiménez](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/pococi/jimenez/), [Mercedes](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/guacimo/mercedes/), [Pocora](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/limon/guacimo/pocora/), [Santa Rosa](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/turrialba/santa-rosa/), [Santa Rosa](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/oreamuno/santa-rosa/) and [Santa Teresita](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/turrialba/santa-teresita/). By area it is the 128th largest of 492 districts in Costa Rica. It covers 8.2% of [Turrialba Canton](https://wherepedia.org/costa-rica/cartago/turrialba/). The centre of Santa Cruz is about 38 km in a straight line from San José, the capital. The centre point is at 10.0133° N, 83.7514° 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 Santa Cruz

OpenStreetMap lists 8 named sights in Santa Cruz: 6 attractions; 1 volcano; 1 national park.

- Parque Nacional Volcán Turrialba · national park
- 1 Catarata · attraction
- 2 Cataratas · attraction
- Catarata Folio 28 · attraction
- Catarata Río Turrialba · attraction
- Cataratas las Trillizas · attraction
- La Muralla Waterfall · attraction
- Volcan Turrialba · volcano

### Nearby, outside Santa Cruz

- Monumento nacional Guayabo · archaeological site, Santa Teresita7.2 km
- Catarata · waterfall, Santa Teresita7.5 km
- Catarata La Bruja · waterfall, Santa Teresita7.7 km
- Mirador · viewpoint, Santa Teresita7.9 km
- Monumento Nacional Guayabo · archaeological site, Santa Teresita8.1 km
- Aquiares Estate Coffee · attraction, Santa Rosa8.8 km
- Catarata El Gavilan · waterfall, Jiménez9.0 km
- Catarata La Esmeralda Perdida · waterfall, Jiménez9.1 km
- Aquiares warerfall · waterfall, Santa Rosa9.5 km
- Catarata La Extraviada · waterfall, Jiménez9.7 km
- Natural monument (Tree) · monument, Santa Rosa9.7 km
- waterfall Aquiares (the small one) · waterfall, Santa Rosa9.7 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: Santa Cruz

- 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

- Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ) · San Jose43 km
- Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) · San José (Alajuela)50 km

### Nearest railway station

Estación Santiago (Santiago), about 17 km from the centre.

### Daylight

Days are longest in Jun (about 12.7 hours, sunrise around 05:13) and shortest in Dec (about 11.5 hours, sunrise around 05:43, sunset around 17:16).

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 Santa Cruz

Open gazetteers list **26 villages, towns and localities** in Santa Cruz. Settlements here lie between about 1,081 m and 2,684 m above sea level (median 1,652 m).

- Alto del Torito
- Bajos de Bonilla
- Bolsón
- Buenos Aires
- Calle Vargas
- Carmen
- Cinchona
- El Trazado
- El Volcán
- Esperanza
- Guayabo Arriba
- La Pastora
- La Picada
- Las Abras
- Las Virtudes
- Pastora
- Picada
- Raicero
- Reunión
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- Santa Cruz
- Tajo
- Trinidad
- Vargas
- Verbena Norte

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 Santa Cruz

Named natural and historic features inside Santa Cruz, from the GeoNames gazetteer.

### Water

14 rivers and streams.

- Quebrada Ariete
- Quebrada Danta
- Quebrada División
- Quebrada Gato
- Quebrada Jesús María
- Quebrada Loca
- Quebrada Lola
- Quebrada Palma
- Quebrada Paredes
- Quebrada Yas
- Río Aquiares
- Río Bonillita
- Río Guayabito
- Río Pilas

### Hills and mountains

1 mountain; 1 hill.

- Cerro San Carlos · 3,228 m
- Cerro Tiendilla · 2,715 m

### Forests and nature

1 nature reserve.

- Turrialba Volcano National Park

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 Santa Cruz and the best time to visit

Using the climate of Turrialba Canton, the warmest month is May (average 16 °C) and the coolest is Jan (14 °C), after allowing for this place being about 817 m higher than the climate reference point (about 6.5 °C per 1,000 m). About 2,266 mm of rain falls in a year; the wettest month is Oct (285 mm) and the driest Feb (70 mm). The most comfortable months for a visit are **January to April**.

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

Month Average °C Rain mm 

Jan 14 119 

Feb 14 70 

Mar 15 76 

Apr 16 117 

May 16 243 

Jun 16 239 

Jul 15 253 

Aug 15 214 

Sep 15 231 

Oct 15 285 

Nov 15 258 

Dec 14 162 

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

## Nearest hospital, bank and fuel from Santa Cruz

Need Nearest mapped Distance 

Hospital Clínica CCSS Pacayas · Pacayas 13 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.91646&mlon=-83.80942#map=17/9.91646/-83.80942) 

Bank Banco Nacional · Pacayas 12 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.91665&mlon=-83.80768#map=17/9.91665/-83.80768) 

ATM Cajero BCR · Guápiles 21 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.20271&mlon=-83.78897#map=17/10.20271/-83.78897) 

Petrol pump Uno · Santa Rosa 12 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.92157&mlon=-83.69516#map=17/9.92157/-83.69516) 

Hotel Cabañas Flores del Volcán · Santa Cruz 2.1 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.99840&mlon=-83.76332#map=17/9.99840/-83.76332) 

Mall Centro comercial Pacayas · Pacayas 13 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.91653&mlon=-83.80960#map=17/9.91653/-83.80960) 

School Escuela El Volcán · Santa Cruz 3.2 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=10.00376&mlon=-83.77933#map=17/10.00376/-83.77933) 

College Centro Educativo Jorge Debravo · Turrialba 13 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.91540&mlon=-83.68399#map=17/9.91540/-83.68399) 

Police station Delegación Policial de Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz 5.7 km [Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=9.96635&mlon=-83.73119#map=17/9.96635/-83.73119) 

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 Santa Cruz

Places mapped inside Santa Cruz in open map data, by type.

- Hotels9
- Schools13
- Restaurants13
- Police stations1

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 Turrialba Canton

- Chirripó
- La Isabel
- La Suiza
- Pavones
- Peralta
- Santa Rosa
- Santa Teresita
- Tayutic
- Tres Equis
- Tuis
- Turrialba

## Quick answers

- Where is Santa Cruz?In Turrialba Canton, Cartago Province, Costa Rica
- What is the population of Santa Cruz?3,788 (2021 estimate)
- What is the median age in Santa Cruz?About 34 years (2021 estimate)
- What is the population density of Santa Cruz?About 29 people per km²
- What borders Santa Cruz?Capellades, Florida, Guácimo, Guápiles, Jiménez, Mercedes, Pocora, Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa and Santa Teresita
- What is there to see in Santa Cruz?1 Catarata, 2 Cataratas, Catarata Folio 28, Catarata Río Turrialba
- What time zone is Santa Cruz in?UTC−6
- What currency is used in Santa Cruz?Colon (CRC)
- What language is spoken in Santa Cruz?Spanish, English (main languages nationally)
- How many villages are in Santa Cruz?26 named settlements (GeoNames, OpenStreetMap)
- What is the elevation of Santa Cruz?Settlements lie between 1,081 m and 2,684 m
- What is the highest point in Santa Cruz?Cerro San Carlos (3,228 m, GeoNames elevation model)
- What is the best time to visit Santa Cruz?January to April
- Where is the nearest hospital to Santa Cruz?Clínica CCSS Pacayas, about 13 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest bank to Santa Cruz?Banco Nacional, about 12 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest ATM to Santa Cruz?Cajero BCR, about 21 km from the centre
- Where is the nearest petrol pump to Santa Cruz?Uno, about 12 km from the centre
- What is the P-code of Santa Cruz?CR30504 (OCHA common operational dataset)