Villa Picaflora: Tropical Balinese Villas
Atenas, Costa Rica

All Picaflora villas feature high-quality anti-seismic construction using sustainably-harvested native hardwoods, and are sited to provide privacy and breathtaking views.
Villa designs can be modified to suit individual buyer needs.

Villa Picaflora emphasizes Balinese tropical architecture, featuring open floorplans, peaked rooflines, deep covered decks and patios, and visually-open wood-and-glass walls.

The Villa Picaflora site is mountainous with fantastic panoramic views: to the northeast, the Atenas Valley with Póas, Barva and Irazú volcanoes in the background, to the southwest the Rio Grande Valley and to the east, the Central Valley with thousands of lights coming alive at nightfall.

Access to Villa Picaflora is via a public road from central Atenas (2km). Villa Picaflora is located inside the Cerros de Atenas protected forest reserve, dotted with a luxurious vegetation, including many species of precious trees like the Guanacaste and Matapalo, flowering trees such as the brilliant orange Poró and many fruit trees including mangoes, limes, bananas, papayas and oranges. A wildlife corridor extends from the Rio Colorado, and carablanca monkeys, sloths, anteaters, and birds including toucans and trogons are regularly seen from the villas.

Villa Picaflora is located just 2 km from the center of Atenas, Costa Rica, a thriving agricultural community of about 20,000 inhabitants. Several hundred Canadian, Italian, German, Dutch, and American full- or part-time residents call Atenas home.

As the capital of its canton and the major town in the area, Atenas has everything you need for everyday business and comfortable living: supermarkets, banks, building materials and hardware, car parts and mechanics, doctors and dentists, lawyers, Spanish classes and a wonderful Friday-morning fruit and vegetable market. The major shopping area of Escazú, with international brand-name boutiques, quality supermarkets and membership discount warehouses is only an hour away.

"Atenas is endowed with an excellent climate due to a moderate temperature, a mixture of warm winds with cool fresh air currents, lots of sunshine and exceptional broad-leaved vegetation. This climate is characterized by an average temperature of 23.7 degrees Celcius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) with close to 7 hours of sunshine per day.

The year is divided into two well defined seasons: winter, the rainy season, from May to October, and summer, the dry season, from November to April. The climate of the township of Atenas is a myth for those who refer to it as “the best climate in the world”, but at the same time a luxurious reality for those who enjoy it day after day.

Based on this reputation, which is both a legend and a reality according to the experts, the township of Atenas decided to erect a monument dedicated to the best climate in the world. The chosen site is located a few hills south-east of the village in the neighbourhood known under the name of Guizaros (Barrio Jesus).

The breeze is refreshing, the air is pure, and the sunsets are truly privileged moments, as a visiting team from this newspaper could confirm. The area is mostly rural with winding roads, lush pastures, rich and varied croplands and many species of  birds. The area is ideal for the observation of eclipses and other celestial phenomena."

Villa Picaflora's Atenas location puts it in the heart of Costa Rica, just 45 minutes fron San José's Juan Santamaria International Airport and an hour from the beaches of the Central Pacific.

Located on Costa Rica's historic Highway 3 - the original coffee export route linking San José and the Central Valley to the Pacific port of Puntarenas, Atenas is only a short drive to many of Costa Rica's main attractions:
   • San José - 1 hr
   • Escazú - 1 hr
   • Jacó - 1 hr
   • Póas Volcano - 2 hrs
   • Manuel Antonio - 2 hrs
   • Arenal Volcano - 3 hrs
   • Monteverde - 3 hrs
   • Tamarindo - 4 hrs
   • Malpais - 4 hrs
   • Puerto Viejo - 4 hrs
   • Dominical - 4 hrs