The Llanos del Cortez waterfall is located in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica west of Bagaces and is considered one of the best waterfalls in the country.
Getting There
The Drive
The waterfall is 16.2 miles/25.1 km east of Liberia on Ruta Nacional Primaria 1 (National Route 1), turning right on a not-too-obvious road (it comes up quickly!). From Liberia, Route 1 is a two-lane, well-maintained, divided highway but with no obvious signs what’s coming up. The speed limit arbitrarily ranges from 40 km/h to 90 km/m – not that anyone appears to pay attention – and the vehicle immediately in front of you may suddenly decelerate to turn off. Pay attention!
Google Maps is fairly accurate but if (when) you miss the turn – as we did – you continue east until reaching the next U-turn lane (which has dedicated lanes to slow, turn and accelerate). First U-turn to head west towards Liberia, next U-turn to head east again, and and then make your right-hand turn.
The street you are driving on after exiting Ruta 1 is an unimproved road that leads to one of two official entrances. Yes, two different entrances, one operated by the local government and the other by the community, both of whom want your tourist dollars. Immediately after exiting the highway, you are assisted by someone offering to lead you to the community entrance: totally unnecessary with Google Maps. We chose the community entrance because it had facilities. Big mistake: the government entrance is closer, easily accessible, with what appeared to be an actual parking lot, whereas the community entrance is twice as far and requires winding through unmaintained roads to an unmarked clearing where someone waves you in and takes your cash. And the facilities? Basically non-existent, not much better than a porta-potty.
The Walk
It’s a ten minute walk from the community entrance where you parked – it’s a stretch to call it a parking lot – to the falls. While not a strenuous hike, the path is unimproved, uneven, unmarked and at places slippery, so take care and watch where you step. A guide led us to the waterfall, pointing out various pitfalls. Overall uneventful but requires more diligence than other tourist sites in the jungle.
Main Event
Upon reaching the falls, you have a choice whether to go up to the top of the falls or to the beach and pool. We did both.
Top of the Falls
You climb to the top of the waterfall by climbing the stairs on the left. From the top you can see the water flowing to the falls and then over the top.
You can also get a birds-eye view of people swimming in the pool below.
The Beach and Pool
You get to the beach and pool by walking across the stream into which the waterfall drains, and from the beach you can go swimming in the pool.
The pool at the base of the waterfall is great for swimming, fairly shallow until you get closer to the waterfall itself. The water temperature was comfortable (compared to Fortuna) and is fairly calm (compared to Fortuna). There’s a rope to (hopefully) stop you from getting into a dangerous situation by getting too close to the falls itself. I paddled and swam for fifteen minutes or so, and, yes dammit, I swam all the way to the rope!
Bring your bathing suit, flip-flops and towel, very enjoyable swim and highly recommended. Locals, tourists, couples, singles, and children were visiting, but overall not that busy on our visit (though May is not prime tourist season).
Closing Comments
Our initial goal was to support the local community by using their entrance, but doubts spread after turning off of Ruta 1. The man stationed at the turn explained the differences between the two entrances and offered to lead us to the community entrance. He said – untruthfully – that the government entrance only leads to the top of the falls, yet I saw official-looking guides who arrived at the beach via a different path than the path we followed.
The expected fees are not entirely clear and somewhat fluid. We read about per-person and parking fees for both, very similar but not quite, and voluntary donations; in the end we paid $2/person and no parking fee. The government’s entrance appears to have (more) legitimate parking, but I can’t comment on any facilities (the facilities at the community entrance are toilets without running water).
Next time, we’ll likely try the government entrance next time, but recommend researching the current state of affairs before you arrive. Regardless of logistical challenges, the falls are gorgeous, the swimming divine, and well worth the hassle.
