Liberia, Costa Rica

Liberia is the capital of Guanacaste province in northwestern Costa Rica, in a dry tropical lowland historically associated with cattle ranching, which gave the province its long-standing sabanero, or cowboy, culture. The city serves as the commercial gateway to Costa Rica's Pacific beach resorts and to Rincon de la Vieja and other volcanic national parks nearby, and its international airport handles much of the country's northern tourist traffic. Liberia's colonial-era center retains the whitewashed adobe houses that gave the city its old nickname, the white city.