Local community

Mastatal is a small pueblo in the San Jose province located two and a half hours by car from San Jose with a population of approximately 150 people. Santiago de Puriscal is the nearest average sized city. Most people work on agriculture and cattle farms in addition to maintaining their own small farms.

According to the oldest people in town, people came to this region 200 years ago. Mastatal was just a forest so people started clearing areas to grow food. There were many Mastate trees so the people decided to call this beautiful piece of land Mastatal.

Mastatal became a more developed rural town in the late 80s when the drinkable water came. Before this each family had to have their own spring or somewhere to catch the water. In 1993, the power service reached Mastatal.

One of the biggest events in this small town’s history was the establishment of La Cangreja National Park in 2002. Since La Cangreja became a national park in 2002, visitors have slowly begun to discover our lovely community.

One of the reasons La Cangreja was established as a national park was to preserve the water coming from the mountains for the surrounding communities. The park is free from cattle and families so the water is pure. The river is fed by natural springs all around the mountain and provides a natural filtration.

In 2005, Mastatal got its first public phone and in those days many families have a phone in their homes, mobile serve, and a café internet.