llanos de cortez waterfall

This is a public area however not too many people there. Beautiful scenery. Large waterfall and swimming area. The water was very clean.

Another visitor posted 22km from Liberia McDonalds. That was very helpful to find the sign to exit the Pan Am Hwy. The sign is hand written, white background, red letters. "CATARATA 800 mt WATERFALL" A short 10 min BUMPY ride once you turn off the Hwy. Only a 4 min. Walk down a rocky slope from the parking lot to the falls. It took us one and a half hours to drive from Tamarindo. We saw several monkeys and butterflies. (I took a picture of the sign, will post)

Nice and accessible waterfall (you don't have to walk 3 Hours in the jungle- 5 minutes walk from parking on bompy road), Saw a girl with high heels... Rocky slope, not for shekel chair. From North, It's 21,5 km starting from the McDo on autopista 1 in Libéria, small sign on your right. Please give $$$$ for car security

We booked a tour that brought us to this site. Very nice location but the road in is very, very rough with deep ruts. We swam under the falls. Was a great time.

This waterfall is not well known and is located 20 Km south of Liberia on the Pan American Highway, It was about 1.5 hours from our hotel on Playa Hermosa. We liked it so much we went there twice. It is a bit hard to find, but if you look closely on the right side of the road at the 20 Km from the Liberia rotary, there is a hand made white and red sign. Upon entering, you are requested to make a donation to their local school. We gave $3-4 each time. The road is dirt and rough but you do not need a 4wheel drive. At the parking lot, a $2 car "security" fee was charged. This is a very good idea. The walk to the falls is short with a few rocky patches. Best to wear shoes and not flip-flops. The falls are magnificent with a sandy area to lie down. The water is clear and not too cold. It can get crowded but that does not take away from the beauty. Best to go during the week versus weekends. Our first visit had maybe 20 people there. Many bring lunch. Our second visit had a busload of preschoolers with parents from an English Speaking school. Even so, it was well worth the second trip. I suggest bringing bug spray and sun lotion. The bugs are not too bad, but bites can be itchy for several days. Note, the Pan American highway is under construction in Liberia and the traffic can be slow especially on the way back where you have to go through the so called traffic circle. Everyone is a bit aggressive but no horns or road rage. Just need to stick the nose of your car in sometimes.

This place was so amazing, that every time we go to Costa Rica we have to visit it. Would like to have a better road to the parking lot, but that will not be an obstacle if you will use a high sitting 4x4. Is really worth of seeing.

The road is very rough, if you have a rental car be very careful... 4 x4 is o.k. the falls are beautiful and is well worth the trek to the back side of the falls. Not much to do there, which makes it nice too. we spent about an hour there and left. Great photo opp !

We were told about this spot from the people at one of our hotels. It was a little bit out of our way, but TOTALLY worth it!! First of all, if you look it up on Google maps, it is there!! So, it makes it easier to find. There is a sign on the road where you turn off, but it's easy to miss. Once you go down a very bumpy road (no worse than most in CR!) There are people at the entrance taking donations for the local school. This is your price for admission. Then once you park, there are men in safety vests who ask for $2 to watch your car. Again, we paid.It is a short hike downhill to the falls. We went on New Year's Day. There were lots of families there swimming and having picnics. We intended to just go and look at the falls, but they were SO inviting that we decided to jump in as well as jump off of one of the rocks directly under the falls. It was a BLAST!! It is also easy to walk around the parking area and see the falls from the top down. There are some small booths with local food vendors. We brought our own snack. I'm pretty sure there was some type of outhouse. Didn't use it so I can't comment specifically. I also think that you have to have a car to get here.This is a GREAT place to go!! Highly recommended!

I only stopped for a moment in the morning when they opened the door and stayed 30 minutes. Very lovely place. If you go later, a lot of people spend the day there. You have to climb down to go see the Fall, of course you must climb up to get out. Gorgeous Fall.

Its about 14 miles south of Liberia on the pan am highway on the right hand side. The big brown sign says Catarata which is waterfall in spanish I think. Its not a professional written sign, its actually more like plywood, spray painted on....just follow the signs. Its about a 5 to 10 min leisure hike. I loved it, we got there late in the day everyone had already left it was not busy, it was beautiful! The water was pretty cool, bring your bathing anyway!

It is not the easiest to find, particularly now that the PanAm highway is under construction. It is exactly 22 km south of the Liberia McDonald's on the right. You pay a donation and then a ferociously bad drive (after rains 4 wheel drive is a must) to a dirt parking lot, from where you can scramble down to the waterfall. If you avoid the weekends you can have the place to yourself. It is possible to climb behind the fall.

We decided to meander back to San Jose from Playa Ocotal by seeing some sites along the way. First one we picked was the Llanos de Cortez Waterfall, and we are super glad that we did! It is stunning. Truly beautiful with all the rushing water. The experience is made even better with the locals making meat skewers on the barbie -- a nice quick and delicious snack while enjoying the incredible scenery. Took lots of photos and enjoyed the sound. Saw little fish in the river. Enjoyed the hike in and out. Purchased a fresh coconut in the parking lot and enjoyed the refreshing milk from it. Wish we had a way to grate the rest of the coconut and eat it.Things you need to know . . . yes, the parking lot attendant charges you. Yes, if you want to use the bathroom you have to pay for it -- AND -- it doesn't flush, so you also have to buy water to "force flush" it. We skipped it and found another place along our route to use facilities.And most important, this is not too far off the highway, and well worth it. Our first Costa Rican monkey sighting was on the dirt road to the parking area. :)

This is a beautiful waterfall and worth the trip. It is a short hike and then once you are down there you can swim at the base. The area is peaceful so you can bring your lunch or take a nap with the wonderful sounds of the waterfall. I recommend water shoes.We had a private driver/guide so we did not pay any fees to enter or park. Their is a vendor near the base selling snacks. I would visit this waterfall again if I had the chance.

It's just a waterfall. At the gate you give a donation. Then You drive down a dirt road for what seems like forever to get to a parking lot where a local guy asks for money to park. Not sure that is even legit. Hike down a very small distance to look at a waterfall. It's not even a hot spring. We spent 5 mins there and left.

We are backpacking and trying to stay on the cheap side . We took a local bus from Liberia and he let us off at the entrance for about $1 each . We then walked about a kilometer to the marked turn and then walked another K or two . We didn't have to pay to enter . You can swim at the waterfall and go behind it . We then walked back to the main highway and caught the returning bus to Liberia :)Easy and cheap