Costa Rican cities and towns, found on the map
Place all seven provincial capitals and eleven other towns. Zoom in around San José, Alajuela and Heredia, then separate the two shores of Golfo Dulce.
18 to find, 8 a run.
3 rounds, 6 of 8 to pass each. Pass one and its places are yours.
Every one on the map
Every place listed below can be asked in this game. Places you find in a passed round drop out of your remaining pool.
- Alajuela
- Cañas
- Cartago
- Ciudad Quesada
- Golfito
- Heredia
- La Fortuna
- Liberia
- Limón
- Nicoya
- Puerto Jiménez
- Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
- Puntarenas
- Quepos
- San José
- San Ramón
- Santa Cruz
- Turrialba
What the map tells you about each one
The paragraph the game shows when you find each one. Reading them first is not cheating.
- San José
- San José is the national capital and the capital of San José province. Its centre is distinct from the wider metropolitan area.
- Alajuela
- Alajuela is the capital of its namesake province. The province extends much farther north than the city.
- Cartago
- Cartago is a former national capital and the capital of Cartago province, known for its basilica and pilgrimage traditions.
- Heredia
- Heredia is a provincial capital in the Central Valley. Its province also reaches the northern Sarapiquí lowlands.
- Liberia
- Liberia is the capital of Guanacaste. It is a different place from the West African country with the same name.
- Puntarenas
- The city of Puntarenas is the provincial capital. The province stretches along much of the Pacific coast, far beyond the city.
- Limón
- Limón, also called Puerto Limón, is the provincial capital and a Caribbean port city with a strong Afro-Caribbean heritage.
- Ciudad Quesada
- Ciudad Quesada, also known as San Carlos, is the main town of San Carlos canton in Alajuela province.
- La Fortuna
- La Fortuna is a town in Alajuela province near Arenal Volcano. It is separate from the reservoir called Lake Arenal.
- San Ramón
- San Ramón is a town in Alajuela province, on routes linking the Central Valley with the northern interior.
- Turrialba
- Turrialba is a town in Cartago province. The nearby volcano shares its name but is a separate map feature.
- Nicoya
- Nicoya is a town in Guanacaste. The wider peninsula also includes areas belonging to Puntarenas province.
- Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz lies in the interior of the Nicoya Peninsula and is associated with Guanacaste’s regional celebrations.
- Cañas
- Cañas is a town in Guanacaste, on the lowland corridor between Liberia and the central Pacific region.
- Quepos
- Quepos is a coastal town in Puntarenas province. Manuel Antonio National Park lies nearby to the south.
- Golfito
- Golfito lies in southern Puntarenas, beside Golfo Dulce and opposite the Osa Peninsula.
- Puerto Jiménez
- Puerto Jiménez lies on the western side of Golfo Dulce. Golfito is across the gulf, on the mainland shore to the northeast.
- Puerto Viejo de Talamanca
- Puerto Viejo de Talamanca is a Caribbean coastal town. It is distinct from Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí in Heredia province.
How this one works
How many cities and towns are on the map?
18. Every one of them is on the map, and a run asks 8 of them. Pass a round and the places you found in it drop out of the pool, so the next run is what you have left.
What is a round?
A run of 8 questions, and 6 right passes it. 3 rounds cover the whole map, and the counter at the top of the Costa Rica page counts the ones behind you. Passing is what banks a round's finds: miss the mark and nothing is taken off the map, so every place that round asked about is still there to be asked again. A round is always the places you have not found yet, and when fewer than five are left it is topped up with a few you have found as review, so the last round is never one or two questions. Three quarters of it passes it.
Can I start the map over?
Yes. "Reset this map" under the counter puts all 18 back in the pool and sets the rounds to zero the moment you press it, so the whole map is there to be found again from nothing. It clears this map only; the other maps of Costa Rica keep their progress.
Do I need an account?
No. The game plays in the page, and a guest's progress is kept in their own browser. Signing in carries it between devices and earns XP for a run.
What happens when I get one wrong?
The map names what you actually hit, then lights up the right answer in green and tells you something about the place. Missing one is how most of this map gets learned.
The other maps of Costa Rica
Afghanistan has the same map in Cities and towns of Afghanistan. Albania has the same map in Cities and towns. Algeria has the same map in Cities of Algeria. Angola has the same map in Cities and towns of Angola. Argentina has the same map in Argentine cities. Armenia has the same map in Cities and towns of Armenia. Australia has the same map in Australian cities. Austria has the same map in Austrian cities and towns. Azerbaijan has the same map in Cities and towns of Azerbaijan. Bahamas has the same map in Bahamian cities and settlements. Bahrain has the same map in Cities and districts of Bahrain. Bangladesh has the same map in Bangladeshi cities and towns. Belarus has the same map in Cities and towns. Belgium has the same map in Belgian cities. Bhutan has the same map in Cities and towns of Bhutan. Bolivia has the same map in Bolivian cities and towns. Bosnia and Herzegovina has the same map in Cities and towns. Botswana has the same map in Cities and towns of Botswana. Brazil has the same map in Brazilian cities. Brunei has the same map in Cities and towns of Brunei. Bulgaria has the same map in Bulgarian cities. Cambodia has the same map in Cambodia’s cities and towns. Canada has the same map in Canadian cities. Chad has the same map in Cities and towns of Chad. Chile has the same map in Chilean cities and towns. China has the same map in Chinese cities. Colombia has the same map in Colombian cities. Côte d’Ivoire has the same map in Cities and towns of Côte d’Ivoire. Croatia has the same map in Cities and towns. Cuba has the same map in Cuban cities and towns. Cyprus has the same map in Cities and towns. Czechia has the same map in Czech cities. Democratic Republic of the Congo has the same map in Cities and towns of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Denmark has the same map in Danish cities. Dominican Republic has the same map in Dominican cities and towns. Ecuador has the same map in Ecuadorian cities and towns. Egypt has the same map in Egyptian cities. El Salvador has the same map in Salvadoran cities and towns. Estonia has the same map in Cities and towns. Ethiopia has the same map in Cities of Ethiopia. Fiji has the same map in Fijian cities and settlements. Finland has the same map in Finnish cities. France has the same map in French cities. Georgia has the same map in Cities and towns of Georgia. Germany has the same map in German cities. Ghana has the same map in Ghanaian cities. Greece has the same map in Greek cities and towns. Guatemala has the same map in Guatemalan cities and towns. Guyana has the same map in Guyanese cities, towns and communities. Haiti has the same map in Cities and towns of Haiti. Honduras has the same map in Honduran cities and towns. Hungary has the same map in Hungarian cities and towns. Iceland has the same map in Icelandic cities and towns. India has the same map in Indian cities. Indonesia has the same map in Indonesian cities. Iran has the same map in Iranian cities. Iraq has the same map in Cities of Iraq. Ireland has the same map in Irish cities and towns. Israel has the same map in Cities and towns of Israel. Italy has the same map in Italian cities. Jamaica has the same map in Jamaican cities and towns. Japan has the same map in Japanese cities. Jordan has the same map in Cities and towns of Jordan. Kazakhstan has the same map in Kazakhstan’s cities. Kenya has the same map in Kenyan cities and towns. Kosovo has the same map in Cities and towns. Kuwait has the same map in Cities and districts of Kuwait. Kyrgyzstan has the same map in Cities and towns of Kyrgyzstan. Laos has the same map in Laos’s cities and towns. Latvia has the same map in Cities and towns. Lebanon has the same map in Cities and towns of Lebanon. Libya has the same map in Cities and oases of Libya. Lithuania has the same map in Cities and towns. Luxembourg has the same map in Cities and towns. Madagascar has the same map in Malagasy cities and towns. Malaysia has the same map in Malaysia’s cities. Maldives has the same map in Islands and settlements of the Maldives. Mali has the same map in Cities and towns of Mali. Malta has the same map in Cities and towns. Mauritania has the same map in Cities and towns of Mauritania. Mexico has the same map in Mexican cities. Moldova has the same map in Moldovan cities. Mongolia has the same map in Mongolian cities and towns. Montenegro has the same map in Cities and towns. Morocco has the same map in Cities of Morocco and Western Sahara. Mozambique has the same map in Cities and towns of Mozambique. Myanmar has the same map in Myanmar’s cities and towns. Namibia has the same map in Namibian cities and towns. Nepal has the same map in Nepali cities and towns. Netherlands has the same map in Dutch cities. New Zealand has the same map in New Zealand cities. Nicaragua has the same map in Nicaraguan cities and towns. Niger has the same map in Cities and towns of Niger. Nigeria has the same map in Cities of Nigeria. North Korea has the same map in North Korean cities. North Macedonia has the same map in Cities and towns. Northern Cyprus has the same map in Cities and towns of Northern Cyprus. Norway has the same map in Norwegian cities. Oman has the same map in Cities and towns of Oman. Pakistan has the same map in Cities and towns of Pakistan. Palestine has the same map in Cities and towns of Palestine. Panama has the same map in Panamanian cities and towns. Papua New Guinea has the same map in Cities and towns of Papua New Guinea. Paraguay has the same map in Paraguayan cities and towns. Peru has the same map in Peruvian cities. Philippines has the same map in Philippine cities. Poland has the same map in Polish cities. Portugal has the same map in Portuguese cities. Qatar has the same map in Cities and towns of Qatar. Romania has the same map in Romanian cities. Russia has the same map in Russian cities. Saudi Arabia has the same map in Saudi cities. Senegal has the same map in Senegalese cities. Serbia has the same map in Cities and towns. Slovakia has the same map in Cities and towns. Slovenia has the same map in Cities and towns. Somalia has the same map in Cities and towns of Somalia. South Africa has the same map in South African cities. South Korea has the same map in South Korean cities. Spain has the same map in Spanish cities. Sri Lanka has the same map in Cities and towns of Sri Lanka. Sudan has the same map in Cities of Sudan. Suriname has the same map in Surinamese cities, towns and communities. Sweden has the same map in Swedish cities. Switzerland has the same map in Swiss cities and towns. Syria has the same map in Cities of Syria. Taiwan has the same map in Taiwanese cities and towns. Tajikistan has the same map in Cities of Tajikistan. Tanzania has the same map in Tanzanian cities and towns. Thailand has the same map in Thai cities and towns. Timor-Leste has the same map in Cities and towns of Timor-Leste. Tunisia has the same map in Tunisian cities and towns. Türkiye has the same map in Turkish cities. Turkmenistan has the same map in Cities of Turkmenistan. Ukraine has the same map in Ukrainian cities. United Arab Emirates has the same map in Cities and towns of the UAE. United Kingdom has the same map in British cities. United States has the same map in American cities. Uruguay has the same map in Uruguayan cities and towns. Uzbekistan has the same map in Cities of Uzbekistan. Venezuela has the same map in Venezuelan cities. Vietnam has the same map in Vietnamese cities and towns. Yemen has the same map in Cities and towns of Yemen. Zambia has the same map in Cities and towns of Zambia. Zimbabwe has the same map in Cities and towns of Zimbabwe. All three together on the Costa Rica atlas page, the country itself on the Costa Rica guide, and the other two hundred on the world map.