In Cachí (1 mile from the Center) and Orosí (7 miles from the Center) you’ll find supermarkets, restaurants and pharmacies. Outside of these towns, the area is very rural, so consider this if you plan to travel without a car. Cachí is located closer to the Training Center, however, unless you are very prepared, we do not recommend riding this distance on a bicycle as the route has many steep hills.

Orosí in particular is a very small tourist town with many options for accommodations. Its safe, a nice place to stay, and SEI Staff will be staying there. From Orosí you can get around in a taxi or an Uber and to arrive at the Training Center. The Uber costs around $9USD to SEI’s training center from Orosí´s town center.

Paraiso is another small town option that is located about a ten minute drive, either in car or in taxi, from the training center. If you stay in Paraiso, you will have access to all the necessities – grocery stores, ATMs, banks, etc.

The Uxarrací center has all the solar installations conducive to practical training in solar energy, training spaces and student rooms. It also has party rooms, large pool, picnic areas, soccer field, basketball, volleyball and tennis, playground for children, large green areas, natural river, game room, store, grocery store and parking. The entire facility is available for the use of our students and their families. Watch this video and discover all that you can do outside of the classroom at the center. In addition to its paradisiacal beaches, Costa Rica has countless tourist attractions. Below some places you can visit near the center. Find more information on what you can do in Costa Rica here.

Located in Ujarras, the oldest church in Costa Rica is a sight worth seeing. Built in the 1560s, the Church of Our Lady of Clean Conception may now be in ruins, but the site offers a glimpse into the region’s past. Today, the traveler will find a beautiful garden, as well as remnants of traditional Spanish colonial architecture.

Lake Cachi is an artificial lake built in the 1970s. As one of the first hydroelectric projects in the country, the lake and the Cachi dam provide power and prevent flood risks in the area. Although the structure of this city is in striking contrast to the greenery that surrounds it, it is a surprisingly beautiful attraction to visit. As Cachi is a small community, one of the best ways to explore it is with a bicycle. Travelers can find a place to rent one, and enjoy the scenery at a leisurely pace, or venture on a difficult journey through its steep streets.

Besides the lake and the dam, one of the most outstanding attractions of Cachi is La Casa del Soñador. This impressive wooden house is a unique structure unlike anything you have seen. Elaborated by the artisan Macedonio Quesada, sculptor and carver of wood of world-wide fame, the House of the Dreamer is made entirely of branches of coffee and bamboo. Although he died in 1995, his children now live in this place. The little wooden shop also has sculptures of all sizes, which are available for purchase by visitors. So you can take home some of the history of Costa Rica with you.

The Lakester Botanical Garden, the largest in the country, “has 11 hectares and the specialty is orchids, there are more than 18 thousand and come from 1200 species, as well as a secondary forest and 2 km of trails” added Jimmy Díaz from the Garden Botanical Lankester.

It has some of the most exuberant virgin cloud forests in the region. With about 18 square kilometers of cloud forest and part of the Talamanca mountain range, this park is one of the most biodiverse in the country. In fact, the park is composed of two life zones: lower rain forest and tropical rainforest. The park spans more than 12,500 hectares and is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including more than 400 species of birds and 45 species of mammals.