La Fortuna Waterfall – Scott's Blog

La Fortuna Waterfall is a Costa Rica tourist site located approximately 18 miles/30km east of Lake Arenal in the Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal, one of many things to do in the Arenal region. The falls are found deep in the jungle, so there’s plenty of gorgeous fauna to see as you make your way there.

Getting There

Unlike most (all?) of our other trips to sites in Costa Rica, the drive from San Jose was relatively easy: Google Maps seemingly knowing where to go, wide-enough roads in good condition and well-marked, no insane elevation changes. The only surprise was the one toll accepting cash only, unlike coming into San Jose where we tapped our credit card. Oh well.

[The drive from La Fortuna to Liberia is a completely different story, where we drove – slowly – on narrow, twisty local roads along the north side of Lake Arenal before heading south to Cañas. The bridges are often single lane, and almost was hit by a semi whose driver felt it was his turn to go. Fortunately disaster avoided.]

The parking lot is easily found upon arrival and you’ll be directed to a general area to park. It’s a maintained, paved parking lot and is attended by employees, so leaving belongings in the car should be fine. As we were traveling between hotels, our suitcases were with us, and we left them hidden in the trunk. It felt safe and comfortable, and we did not have any problems.

Upon Arrival

From the parking lot, it’s a short walk to the entrance gate where you purchase tickets (online booking is also available). After getting your wristband strapped on, you can go through the entrance and head to the waterfalls.

Restrooms

If, like us, you need a bio-break after a long drive, restrooms can be found past the gift shop outside the ticketed entrance. Restrooms are also found at the gift shop/cafe which you’ll pass on the walk to the falls.

To The Waterfall!

The waterfall is 517 steps down from where you started. And if you’re saying to yourself 500 steps? That’s it?, think again: it’s strenuous returning back up!

The staircase is wide, solid and well-maintained, with handrails on both sides – primarily for dragging one’s self upwards. Professional athletes aside, most everyone were pacing themselves because during this cardiac workout.

Thoughtful planning means that there are benches and other places to rest before continuing your way back to the top.

You’ve Reached The Bottom!

Once you’ve left the steps, the waterfall is straight-ahead on a mostly flat path. You come across a small set of stairs that leads to a bridge over the fall’s outflow which is ideal taking pictures and capturing selfies. Pass the bridge is an open area with benches as well as a way to the water’s edge.

Swimming In The Falls?

Many times I read Bring your bathing suit and towel! and it was obvious that many people had read the same. So I did what ever crowd-following tourist does and put on my suit, grabbed a towel, and headed down.

Meh. Not worth all it’s purported to be.

Reaching and entering the pool is treacherous. The pool is surrounded by large, slippery rocks that makes it difficult to reach the water. The couple of “easier” routes don’t accommodate many people simultaneously and it very slow going.
The height of the falls (230ft/70m) and the volume of water provides significant force when the water hits the pool. The pool is fairly small, therefore the water was fairly choppy to swim through.
The water is cold, borderline uncomfortable, especially as the air temperature at the falls was cooler and much more comfortable than at the top.
Everything felt crowded. Mid-May is not prime tourist season in Costa Rica, yet enough people were there that you were navigating around others on the stairs and at the pool.

I did swim for about minutes, did try and swim towards the waterfall, but returned quickly. Another pool to the left is available to just sit and paddle around, but didn’t seem like that many people were interested in it and I didn’t try it.

Though the waterfall is definitely dramatic and beautiful to see, the swimming aspect is overrated and not recommended. Instead, I found Llanos del Cortez a much more enjoyable waterfall to swim at.

Amenities

You’ll find a gift shop, cafe, and restrooms between the entrance gate and the stairs. The cafe serves drinks and light snacks, and has tables/chairs for you to sit and recover from the trek back up from the falls (as we did). The restrooms are clean and well-maintained.

The entrance to the Arenal Butterfly Garden is just to the left of the steps going to the waterfall, though we didn’t have time to check it out.

Logistics

The site is open 7am-5pm every day and tickets cost $20 each when purchased on-site.