Nauyaca Waterfall

When we read up on Manuel Antonio, we read there was not just the National park to explore, but the surrounding areas are beautiful, full of wildlife, stunning walks, waterfalls and regional parks…what they didn’t say is that to get to these you need a car!!

However, at our accommodation we met a lovely couple who had a car and when Leo suggested the ‘Nauyaca waterfall’ they seemed keen so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – we had a ride and some new friends.
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Situated about 45 mins South of Manuel Antonio lies the Nauyaca waterfall which is arguably one of the best waterfalls in Costa Rica. Upon arrival at the office you sign in, pay the entry fee and decide how you would like to face the falls walk. We of course walked as we have legs, but I have added the options below as there are three ways to get to the waterfall from the office. You can hike, go on a truck or go horseback riding.

• The entrance fee for the waterfalls is $9 USD per person (6800colons), and 1700colons for the car if you would like to park at their car-park (DO IT…saves 2kms of walks extremely rough/steep terrain on a dirt road)
• The horseback riding tour is $70 per person and you need to make reservations beforehand.
• The 4×4 truck is $28 per person and they have schedules at 7 AM, 9 AM, 10 AM, 11 AM and 12 PM. They bring you back two hours after you arrive at the waterfall. We saw these passing with happy tourists, but we would total recommend walking as its 4km in and out (8kms round trip)

The walk itself is amazing, it’s beautiful, shaded in most parts and easy if you are moderately fit. It’s roasting hot however regardless as you are in Costa Rica so be prepared to sweat your body weight and be a drippy mess by the time you arrive. The walk took us 45 minutes and when we got there, OH MY GOD, this waterfall is impressive!

There are 2 areas of falls, #1 and #2, with number 1 being more for awe inspiring photography and number 2 being the one you can swim in. Even though we were hot, sweaty messes we opted for number 1 as we knew that it would be the quieter of both upon arrival. We were right! Only 1 other family was there so we had the falls practically to ourselves to take some awesome photos before making the descent down to the second set of falls.
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The second waterfall has a massive pool for swimming and was PACKED when we got there, but it was still really refreshing to hop in after the sweat fest we had just experienced. Leo managed to climb up the waterfall and bomb in from about 15ft as well so that was an experience – which I wouldn’t recommend to everybody, but he loved it. 

SIDE NOTE
In the afternoon we wanted to check out an activity in town called the ‘zip coaster’ which can be seen here. Many have written this is an accident waiting to happen…but we loved it. Yes, it’s scary and a little dangerous but for $12USD pp…what a bargain!
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From there we went to watch the sunset and Barbaroja which I highly recommend! It has a great 2 4 1 happy hour and even though the prices are a little expensive, for 1 drink and great views it was totally worth it.