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Sam Wilson
Apr 30, 2018, 9:49:08 PM4/30/18
to Living in Costa Rica
LiCR,
Of course best is subjective, but in this thread, I'll try to mention and provide pictures, link, videos, etc. of the waterfalls that are often considered among the best in Costa Rica. A few I'll mention I have not yet visited, but I do love waterfalls -- I visit them every chance I get. In no particular order, let me start with one of my favorites for a day out with the family...
Catarata Llanos de Cortés
As was mentioned earlier, this is one beautiful warm-water waterfall. A slow river winds its way across the Llanos (Plains) de Cortes between Bagaces and Liberia in Guanacaste and then the land just drops out from under the river and the river pours over the cliff edge plunging about 25-30m to the relatively peaceful pool below. The parking area above the falls is just a short drive (less than 10 minutes) from Bagaces, and from the parking area to the main waterfall pool is now only about a 5 minute walk down concrete steps. The sandy beach and shallow pool make this waterfall a super nice spot for a picnic. The trail to the top of the falls is a very easy walk off the side of the parking area, but be careful -- there are no guard rails and you can get as close to the edge as you wish -- every few years someone dies because they got too close to the edge and tumbled over, or because they were playing daredevil and dove into a submerged rock or two. This watering hole is a favorite of the locals and it is guaranteed to be packed during Semana Santa and other summer holidays. During the rainy season the shallow (<2m) pool can deepen a bit and the waterfall is noticeably mas fuerte. There is plenty of space behind the falls to climb inside and sit on a mossy rock.
Llanos de Cortes - Guanacaste, Costa Rica ¡Qué buen lugar! (video)
Rio Celeste in Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio
As many of you know, there are quite a few "Rio Celeste" rivers in Costa Rica, but this one is the best I've ever seen. It is breathtakingly spectacular. The turquoise waters are mesmerizing. Magical. The local indigenous people say, when God finished painting the sky, he washed his paint brushes in this river. Claro, as you can see below it is true. Scientists will tell you if you continue upstream from the waterfall you'll eventually get to the beginning of the sky-blue waters at the confluence of two colorless rivers: rio Buena Vista & Quebrada Agria (sour.) The Buenavista carries a high concentration of small particle aluminosilicate. Quebrada Agria is very acidic. When the two mix to form Rio Celeste, the drop in pH causes the aluminosilicate particles to aggregate and form much larger (566 nm) particles where the particle size is comparable to the wavelength of visible light, and due to an effect called Mie scattering the river "scatters" the visible light leaving us with this lovely turquoise color, similar to the reason the sky is blue. The river being sky-blue is just an optical illusion -- not a chemical reaction of volcanic gases like many think. I know you didn't really want to know those details, but I was just showing how the Indian explanation matches up perfectly with science, and now you know how and where God washes his paint brushes. ;-) During the rainy season this calm looking pool looks more like the angry sea and guides string rope across the shallow rocks so folks can get to the other side. As I recall the trail directly to the waterfall is about 1600 meters and usually muddy and a tad bit rough (climbing over roots, etc.) It will take at least 30 minutes or so to get to the waterfall if you don't stop along the way to play in one of the thermal springs along the way. There is a longer trail about 7.5 km that takes you past Laguna Azul and the mixing of the Buena Vista & Quebrada Agria -- if you have the time and plenty of wheaties, take the long trail for a very nice jaunt with Mother Nature. Last time I was there I swam right up to the thundering falls and after pondering it a little to long, I launched myself through the incredible pounding with a wall kick that would make Michael Phelps proud. I reasoned that even if the pounding was enough to knock me out, at least I'd come out the other side. Pretty dumb, I know. I've heard of several kids who have drowned in that pool... If anyone has updated info on this, please post it. Also I think the river is a more deep turquoise color when it is not raining, on rainy days the river is lighter colored. PS - I noticed in a few of the videos that the trail folks are taking now is not the one I last took where I ended up on the left side of the waterfall, so don't quote me on distances, etc. Now it looks like the trails are more developed and you can't go swimming in the pool -- they've got viewing platforms.
I've got another 5 or 6 great waterfalls in mind that I'll try to cover in a future post or two. These are 2 of the nicer ones available to the public in my neck of the woods. Please share what you've got in yours! I'd really like to visit the Nauyaca waterfall and Diamante waterfall plus cave down south.
Thanks,
Sam
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