Prior to its founding, the area around Heredia was inhabited by the native tribe that is known as the Huetares, who were commanded at the coming of the Spanish by the Cacique Garabito.

[3] In 1706 settlers from Cartago, set up a small church at a place they called "Alvirilla", which soon became more populated.

[5] In 1751, the Bishop of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Monseñor Pedro Agustín Morel de Santa Cruz supervised the founding of the first school in Heredia, which was run by the church.

[1] Heredia is located 11km north of San José and is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area.

Very warm year-round, the temperatures are tempered by the amount of cloud cover that affects the area.