Guide to Hiking Nauyaca Waterfalls
Number 1 Waterfall Experience in Costa Rica.
Nauyaca Waterfalls park is located about 50 minutes from Manuel Antonio, 30 minutes from Uvita and about 15 minutes from Dominical and 10 min from Cloud Seven Sanctuary.
From Carretera Pacifica Fernandez at the Baru Bridge take the route 243 towards San Isidro. You will see plenty of signs for Nauyaca Waterfalls on that road. 7km up the road you will see a roadside house on your right and a huge NAUYACA sign across the street. At the moment (2024) the tickets for the entrance are around $28 USD for foreigners aka gringos (the price might change).
You can either hike down about 2 km to the starting point of the hiking trail, or you can drive your 4X4 and park at the parking lot at the beginning of the trail.
After you park your car you can start the 2.7 km hike on a dirt road through the thick lush primary forest to the waterfalls (about 45 min). The road can get muddy after a heavy rain, so bring good hiking shoes. A good portion of the road has a nice shade, but there are parts that will be exposed to the sun, so bring some protection from sun. If you don’t feel like hiking for 2.7km, you can take a trolly ride from the office to the main entrance to the Waterfall Park ($38 per person - gringo price) then the total hiking time will be only about 10 minutes.
You can find more useful information and purchase entrance tickets here: https://www.nauyacawaterfall.com/
Once you are the park, you will have an option to go to the lower falls or to the upper falls. Check out the spectacular upper falls first and then go down to the lower falls where you can swim and jump of the cliffs if you dare. On the weekends it can get crowded but you might find watching the crowd cheering on the cliff jumpers brave enough to jump into the plunge pool be surprisingly entertaining and fun. Here is where you will find the locals picnicking on the weekends.
If you are looking for a magical location for a Wedding proposal or a Couple Photoshoot consider Nauyaca Waterfalls.
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