The Catarata Llanos de Cortes Waterfall is a must-see if you’re in the area for a week or more. It’s an easy drive from Brasilito – about an hour and a half.
It’s about 20 minutes outside of Liberia with freeway access almost the entire way. The last part of the drive is a gravel road but it was pretty well maintained and an easy drive when we were there. A sedan could easily drive to the parking lot.
At the parking lot, you’ll find a stand where you can buy cold drinks, snacks and souvenirs but I’d recommend taking a cooler with a picnic. The walk down into the falls is made of stone stairs so even the old a
nd young can pretty easily get down into the falls – and you can also carry a cooler pretty easily as well.
The water beneath the falls is not very deep so you can walk most of the way. If you want to walk behind them, you can take the rocks to the left side but they are very slippery so get your footing before making the next move. This part is not recommended for the elderly!
You can also walk and swim out to the falls and get up on the rocks to get behind it that way but, again, it’s slippery!
Don’t miss the short hike around the left side to a smaller waterfall as it’s just as gorgeous but much more serene than the major waterfall.
This is an easy day trip from Brasilito and if you want to make it a little more adventurous, take the Monkey Trail!
Directions to to Catarata Llanos de Cortes:
- On the Pan American Highway, head south towards Bagaces, It’s a 20-minute drive from Liberia.
- On your right hand side there is a dirt road about 3 miles before Bagaces with a small sign for Llanos de Cortes. It’s kind of at the top of a hill and there aren’t typical exits from this freeway so be ready!
- There’s a sky/pedestrian bridge over the road at the turn off so when you see that, slow down and be ready to take a quick right.
- If you cross the river you went too far. You will see a sign that says “Waterfall.”
- From here, follow the signs to the parking lot. You’ll have to pay 1000 colones for parking.
Just want to map it – here you go!
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