Yaaay, we were finally able to visit the Llanos de Cortes Waterfall. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful waterfall in Costa Rica. I had read about this on Internet and heard a lot about it from our friends, but something kept preventing us from going.

Anyway, it is without doubt our most favorite waterfall and I don’t think can put enough stress on my recommendation to visit Llanos de Cortes.

Keep reading to know more about how to get there, how much it costs and about the secret pond.

The Llanos de Cortes Waterfall is one of Costa Rica’s most spectacular waterfalls and is also the easiest to access.

You don’t need 4×4 to explore this place. It’s a 5-minute walk to the waterfall from the parking area.

Location:

Waze:https://waze.com/ul/hd1g7g5bmg
Google map:

Best time to visit:

Dry Season (Dec to April)

Hours of Operation:

8:00 AM – 4:30 PM every day.
The Entrance will be open until 3:30 PM.

Entrance Fee

National:
Children, Students, Senior Citizens- ₡ 1000
Adults- ₡ 2000

Non-Residents:
Children, Students, Seniors – ₡ 2000 ($4)
Adults – ₡ 4000 ($7)

No fee for children under 6 year.

Parking fee is included.

Waterfall:

We started from San Jose and reached the second entrance.  There are 2 Entrances 😃

After driving for ~600mts we found the ticket counter.

From there we had to drive for 1.4 kilometer to reach the parking lot.

The Parking lot has a well-maintained bathroom. It is very clean and you can change there.

We were so excited as we could heard the splash of the waterfall from the parking lot. We changed in to our swimwear and ran towards the entrance of the pathway that leads down to the waterfall. Here you will see large steps made of concrete going downwards.

It’s just a 5minute walk, but it can get difficult for older people and children. So, make sure you contain your excitement and wait for them.

The waterfall drops into a tranquil pond that has a white sandy beach. Its pool is perfect for swimming and the beach for sunbathing. In the dry season, the waterfall looks very delicate, it isn’t scary at all. However, we’ve heard that it can get quite rough and dangerous during the rainy season.

From the beach, we could see a small mini rainbow at the foot of the waterfall where the sun broke through the trees above into the spray of the waterfall 😊

We visited on a Saturday morning, there were a lot of families there enjoying a picnic . For the first 30mins we just hung out clicking pictures as it was sooooo beautiful 😁

After that we wanted to get Ariel view 😃

We followed the trail towards the left of the waterfall. On the way up, we met some locals that accompanied us.

The walk is pretty uneven so be careful, especially if you are new to exploring jungle.We had our slippers on and it wasn’t helping the climb 😋

You will find a beautiful pond there. The locals were swimming and somersaulting into it.

On top we had to cross the river that pours in to the waterfall.

Please, do not go to the edge of the cliff, it is slippery and dangerous. Llanos de Cortes has a forest ranger that keeps track of people’s movements, so if you are nearing danger, they will blow their whistles and make you move from that place.

After enjoying the top view, it was our time to go back down to relax and swim 😊. As reached the bottom, we jumped straight into the pool.

Boy! was it refreshing. The water felt so great we did not want to get out of water at all ☹️. But, we had to leave early in order to get back home (San Jose)

What to bring:

Swimsuit
Towel
Sandals
Snacks
Water
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Cameras
ID

Note:

No :Pets ,Carrying alcohol,Camping,Bonfires, Grills.

Don’t leave any valuables in the car.

The path / steps are not wheelchair friendly.

Make sure you take something to eat as there are no shops there.

During rainy season, the water level can get very high so be careful when swimming. There are lots of rocks at the base of the falls in the pool, be careful and try not to cut yourself.