Catarata Llanos de Cortes is one of the must see waterfalls in Costa Rica and one of the best waterfalls to see if you’re staying in any of the destinations in the Guanacaste province.
Catarata Llanos de Cortes waterfall (also known as Llanos de Cortez waterfall) is only a 5 minute walk from the parking lot to the waterfall and a great cheap activity in Guanacaste.
Important Things to Know About Llanos de Cortes Waterfall
- Open everyday from 8 AM to 4 PM
- 4×4 not required
- No pets allowed
- Free parking with a bathroom
- Short trail down to waterfall
- No market/restaurant, bring your own food and drinks
- Pay entrance fee upon arrival. Cash only in USD or CRC.
In the rainy season, please check the Catarata Llanos de Cortes Facebook page for updates. They will post if the waterfall closes due to weather.
Sometimes, when it has been raining heavily, they will close the waterfall for safety reasons. Other times, it is open but swimming may not be allowed.
Worse months for weather are usually September, October and November.
Location and Directions
The Cortes waterfall is in Bagaces, Guanacaste.
Catarata Llanos de Cortes is 36 kilometers (22 miles) from Guanacaste Airport and about a 35 minute drive.
Sometimes, the Llanos de Cortes waterfall is spelled with a z as in “Llanos de Cortez waterfall” and it’s the same waterfall.
How to Get to Catarata Llanos de Cortes
The best way is to drive to Llanos de Cortes Waterfall.
You can use Google Maps or Waze as your GPS. In Waze and Google Maps, enter “Catarata Llanos de Cortes” as your destination.
You will see a lot of signs at the turn.
Continue on this road for about a kilometer or so and then you will see another entrance to the right with a sign that says “Waterfall.” You’ll then see a security station which you need to go through to continue to the waterfall.
Continue on this road after paying the fee about another kilometer or so to the parking lot.
There is no pubic bus directly to the waterfall.
Road Condition, 4×4 required for Llanos de Cortez Waterfall?
The road to the Cortez waterfall is in good condition. It is not fully paved but there weren’t many big holes and it’s fairly flat, not many hills or anything.
You do not need a 4×4, you can drive to the Llanos de Cortez waterfall in a sedan in the dry season. There aren’t any steep hills or mountains roads to get to this waterfall.
If you visit during October or during a tropical storm in rainy season, the road may be muddy.
Catarata Llanos de Cortes hours
The Cortes waterfall is open 8AM – 4 PM everyday.
Catarata Llanos de Cortes entrance fee
4000 CRC for foreign adult
2000 CRC for foreign children ages 7-12
2000 CRC for seniors 65+ (must have passport if foreign)
2000 CRC for students with valid student ID
Parking and Facilities
The Llanos de Cortez waterfall has a large parking and they do have bathrooms (not a porter potty). No showers or changing rooms.
The parking lot is not under surveillance nor is there a proper guard so make sure not to leave any valuables visible in the car.
Also roll up your windows and lock your doors.
When we visited, there was a man sitting outside the bathrooms, kind of watching the parking lot.
What to bring
Swimsuit, change of clothes, towel, sandals or flip flops, snacks, water/drinks, sunglasses and sunscreen if you plan to stay for a couple hours.
They don’t sell food or drinks at the waterfall all the time. We have been there once during the holidays when some locals brought their own stand to sell shaved ice, snacks and cold coconut water but this is not always.
So make sure to bring your own refreshments.
The Trail to the Llanos de Cortez Waterfall
The total time to walk from the parking lot to the Llanos de Cortes waterfall is around 5 minutes.
From the parking lot, you will see a sign that says Catarata Waterfall 100 m with an arrow pointing left. Walk on this trail and you’ll get to the entrance of the main trail.
They have now made a very nice concrete path down to the waterfall.
It’s a very short walk, just about 3-5 minutes and they have a rope for a handrail and concrete steps all the way down.
The steps are not super steep so for anyone in good physical health, it is no problem. For anyone who may have ankle or knee problems, go slow and use the handrail.
Thankfully, there aren’t a ton of steps, maybe around 30 or so. It took me about 3 minutes to walk down to the waterfall from the parking lot.
When you get to the bottom of the trail, turn right to go to the waterfall.
The Stunning Cortes Waterfall
The Llanos de Cortes waterfall is no doubt, impressive. Especially if you go in the rainy season and it is very full from all the rains.
It is truly like an oasis in the desert as the water is super refreshing. It feels oh so good in the heat!
Important: They do not allow people to climb up the rocks under the waterfall.
During the rainiest months like October and November, the wall on the right side of the waterfall activates a second smaller waterfall!
It has a pool you can swim in too. It is seasonal so it won’t be there during the drier months like February, March and April.
If conditions are good, you can also walk up to the left side of Cortes waterfall to climb up to the top.
Be very careful as it may be slippery or muddy, it’s not a proper trail at all, just climbing up through the forest.
You’ll be able to see the river that supplies the waterfall and even walk all the way back to the parking lot from there.
We did this in March, the driest month in Guanacaste so it wasn’t muddy and all the foliage was dead/dry. I do not recommend it during the rainy season (May through November).
If it has been raining a lot, they may not allow you to swim in the waterfall due to unsafe conditions. PLEASE adhere to the regulations, they are for safety purposes.
Other Things to Know About Visiting the Llanos de Cortez Waterfall
- No bonfires or grills allowed.
- No smoking, no camping.
- Keep your ticket, they can ask for it anytime.
- You can stop by if you’re driving from Guanacaste (like Tamarindo/Playas del Coco/Conchal) to La Fortuna or vice versa. You can also stay for as long as you want, as it’s a nice day trip.
- To get the most of your day trip, you can visit the waterfall in the early morning for about an hour or just a photostop on your way to Rio Celeste. Or do Cortes Waterfall + zipline at Rincon de la Vieja or Diamante Eco Adventure Park.
What Else to Know About the Cortes Waterfall
This waterfall is now a popular spot for tours and it’s not as “hidden” as it used to be when we first visited.
Tour companies start stopping there 930, 10 AM or so. Or, go around 1-2 PM on a weekday.
Holidays are crazy busy, particularly Costa Rican holidays: Chrismas, New Years, Holy Week, Mother’s Day (August 15) and Independence Day (September 15).
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Other beautiful waterfalls are the Nauyaca waterfalls near Dominical in the South Pacific, Rio Celeste waterfall in northern Costa Rica, Catarata Rio Agrio, Blue Falls and Catarata del Toro in Bajos del Toro. Or check out our post on 12 amazing waterfalls in Costa Rica!
Lee says
Hey, your blog was helpful in us getting there! What a beautiful spot!
Some changes you may want to add to your article! The waterfall is now under the control of the government & they have added a new gate at the beginning of the road where the entrance fee is $7USD per person for foreigners.
At the parking lot after you drive the road up which is in good condition you will find a new washroom facility.
Sammi says
Thanks for the update Lee! Seems like they’ve been changing it a lot the past few months since everyone has been giving different reports! Good to know the latest updates.
Rose says
I was just reading in the Trip Advisor forum that this place is now closed due to a drowning??
Is this true?
Thanks
Sammi says
Hi Rose, they closed the last part of the road to the waterfall since they’re going to re-do it. There is a gate now about 1 kilometer before so you have to park your car there and walk the last bit.
Rose says
Thank you!
Laura says
Went to Cortez today, a Friday. To supplement directiins: there is a sign “Bagaces 5km”, soon after is the pedestrian bridge. Turn immediately after bridge and you will see waterfall sign.
They charged us 3mil to park/go to falls and there was a guy asking for donations “for the children”. We gave him 2 mil.
The walk to the falls trail is hot and dusty! Its about 1km. The trail down to the falls is paved with steps but still some difficulty due to steepness. We took it slow and easy. There was a small stand selling beverages, snacks and grilled chicken—get it, very yummy!
Beautiful falls! Thanks for the tips.
Sammi says
Thanks for the update Laura and I’m so glad you had a great time! Seems like they are charging a bit more money now in high season but it’s still cheap though it used to be free before.
Sammi says
Hi Sophie, for a family I would definitely recommend renting a car. Catarta Llanos de Cortes is technically “closed” right now since they are remodeling it but if you have a car, you can park at the gate and walk the rest of the 1 km to the falls but there is no bus that goes to this waterfall.
At Rio Celeste, if you take the bus, you will need to take a taxi or book transportation to the national park entrance which is around $30 one way, there isn’t a bus that goes to the national park entrance. So it depends on your budget, you can rent a car for part of your trip which will be the easiest and most comfortable option, especially with kids. With the bus, you’ll be lugging your luggage around a lot and waiting around quite a bit so comfort, time and safety wise, renting a car is the best option.
We do have a discount with a car rental to give up to 20% off and driving in the Guanacaste area is pretty easy. You don’t need a 4×4 to Rio Celeste either. You can check prices on our page here: Costa Rica car rental discount.
Sophie says
Hello! We will be travelling across Costa Rica for 2 months with our 6 and 9 y.o girls. We hesitate renting a car or travel by bus (we are used to public transportation), what would you advise? We will be landing in Liberia on feb 5th and would like to see the falls prior to heading to Rio Celeste. Thanks for your advice! Could you send me tour details? Kind regards. Sophie
Scott says
The falls were great! Seems to be a good place for locals to go to cool off. There were a couple vendors selling drinks and food. There’s a ‘donation’ to enter and another for parking, but it’s nominal and worth contributing.
There are now steps leading all the way down to the falls. My 80-year old parents were able to make the trip down and back up, albeit tired :-).
The access road off Highway 1 is not paved, bumpy, and has some potholes, but worth the trip. A 4×4 was good to have, but definitely not necessary.
Angie says
I’m so happy we found your blog about this waterfall when we were staying in Playas Del Coco area. Everything in the Guanacaste region was either very dry or on fire last week. We stayed 3 nights in this region. We were getting disappointed with how dry everything appeared, thinking we made a bad decision to stay in that area three nights. Then I found your blog about this waterfall! We spent the good majority of one of our days at it. It was wonderful and so pretty! Thanks for writing the blog article. It helped our trip in the Guanacaste region greatly! After discovering your blog, I did check back to your expertise, when we stayed in Jaco and check to see if you had anything about the Sierpe area. Thanks also for the information on Nauyaca waterfall too!
Sammi says
Hi Angie, I’m so glad to hear! I know, Coco is a desert during March and April and isn’t very pretty during that time. We were super excited when we first visited Llanos too, that’s why we call it an oasis in Guanacaste! Glad you had a great time and thanks for reading!
yeison says
Hello Jessica,
There a many companies here that can take you Cortes Waterfalls, the charge from $60 to $80 it depends of the day and company. The cheapest option to go there is if you rent a car you can get a car for 1 or 2 days and it will be cheaper that the fee for just one person, and if you like to hike you will be able to go to other places like this beautiful hike: Rincon de la Vieja National Park
If you would like to rent a car you can check our rates we have a very good agreement with a local rent a car company
Costa Rica car rental discount
Thanks for reading our blog Jessica
Jessica Emerson says
Hello!
Great website! I am traveling to Tamarindo in late March and would like to plan a day trip to Llanos de Cortes. Can you recommend a tour that includes transportation? Also, since my boyfriend and I are in good shape, any other details of hiking to do when we get there would be fantastic!
Jess
Sammi says
Hi Rosetta, sure we will be happy to help. We do offer a discount for the one day Nicaragua tour. All you have to do is fill out the form on this page here: Nicaragua one day tour discount and we will take care of all the booking for you. As for the other tours, I’ll send you an email with a company we like and help you get that sorted.
Glad the blog is helpful and we hope you have a great 2nd time in Coco!