Ciudad Colón

Ciudad Colon
Town
Ciudad Colon, aerial view Ciudad Colon, aerial view
Country	Costa Rica
Province	San José
Canton	Mora

Ciudad Colon is a small town situated west of Santa Ana, Costa Rica. Ciudad Colon is the head city of Mora Canton, San José Province. It is famous for its warm climate, proximity to nature and its surrounding mountains, folkloric traditions, horse riding, and multiculturalism.Ciudad Colon is the home of the Julia and David White's Artist Colony which attract writers, visual artists and musicians from around the world

Overview

Located some 6 km out into the hills is the United Nations University for Peace. Over 200 students from all over the world pursue their master's degrees in a wide variety of academic disciplines such as international peace studies, conflict resolution and settlement of disputes, human rights and natural resources management. The vast majority of students reside in Ciudad Colon, which provides the town with distinctive feel.

Demographically, Ciudad Colon can be considered as cosmopolitan as Santa Ana or Escazu, but in terms of amenities and services available, it is considered a typical small Costa Rican town. The cost of living is lower than in Santa Ana or Escazu. There is one major supermarket that meets the needs and requirements of expatriates and dozens of other small stores, banks and pharmacies. There are no upscale bars or restaurants but there are many local venues catering to food and entertainment. Ciudad Colon is particularly suitable for outdoor activities such as horse riding, mountainboarding, biking, running and hiking.

Despite its small size, people from over 60 nationalities live in Ciudad Colon at any given time, making it one of the most multi-cultural towns in the whole world. Most of this expatriate population comprises students and faculty members from the United Nations mandated University for Peace. Ciudad Colon is at the foothills of the mountain where the University for Peace sits nicely perched.

Ciudad Colon used to be called Villa Colon, but before that, and many years ago Pacaca. Close to the town is Quitirrisí, an indigenous reserve in the Central Valley, very well known for their handcraft abilities.