Arguably the most visited waterfall in the whole country, La Fortuna waterfall has attracted travelers from all over the world for years. Dropping 75 meters (246 feet) into a bright blue pool, this waterfall paints a perfect postcard of the Costa Rican jungle.
Sitting just 6 km (~4 miles) outside of the town of La Fortuna and at the base of the Cerro Chato volcano, the waterfall makes for a great half day trip. The water is fed by the Tenorio River that goes through the rainforest in the Arenal area until it reaches a cliff to create this waterfall. Visitors can get several different views as they make the somewhat arduous hike from the visitor’s station to the base of the fall.
In this guide, you will read about how to visit this stunning waterfall to help plan your trip.
Location
La Fortuna waterfall map
La Fortuna waterfall is 1 kilometer (.6 mile) south and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) west of the main church in downtown La Fortuna. It i inside the Ecological Reserve Fortuna Waterfall, owned and operated by a local Fortueño family.
How to get to the waterfall:
You can drive or take a taxi to the waterfall park. A taxi one way from downtown is around $10-15 USD. Uber also exists in La Fortuna and you can check the app to call one.
To drive there, take the road south from town across a little bridge. Drive for about 4 kilometers and then turn right (you will see a big sign for the waterfall). Continue on this road for about 5 kilometers (3 miles) to reach the parking lot. You can find La Fortuna Waterfall on Google Maps and Waze.
You do not need a 4×4 or 4wd to get to Fortuna waterfall. The road is all paved.
Entrance Fee and Hours
The Fortuna waterfall entrance fee is $18 USD for adult foreigners, $5 USD for children.
The Fortuna waterfall hours of operation are 8 AM to 4:00 PM, open every day. They have a big parking lot and there are bathrooms, a small cafe and souvenir store at the entrance. The latest you can enter the park is 4 PM.
La Fortuna Waterfall Steps
After you pay your ticket at the entrance office, walk across the bridge to get to the trail head. You’ll see a gift shop and bathrooms and beyond that is an observation platform with a great view of the waterfall.
Make sure to stop by there first to take some pictures before embarking on the epic walk down.
The beginning of the trail is over to the left so when you’re ready, start going down the many steps. They have built a brand new platform so it’s much easier and more comfortable to walk to La Fortuna waterfall.
The new platform is super nice with handrails. When we first visited in 2013, it was all dirt! Now there are bars and benches to make it easier to walk.
After about 10 minutes, you’re going to start wondering exactly how many steps down to La Fortuna waterfall there are. But trust me, it’ll be worth it when you get there!
Walk across another bridge to get to the waterfall base (don’t forget to look right to see another small waterfall). Hear the roaring sound of the water and see the white ribbon cascading down surrounded by a deep green rainforest.
As soon as you reach the bottom, you can enjoy the beautiful tropical rainforest nature sights and sounds.
Can you swim in La Fortuna waterfall?
Yes, you can swim in the La Fortuna waterfall. However, the water is cold! And the current is super strong where the water falls into the pool, so make sure to stay by the rocks (like the people in the photo). Do not swim further out into the pool closer to the cascade.
Some times of the year, like September, October or November when it has been raining very hard, the waterfall can be a brown color. The current may also be too strong to swim.
Down to the left, there is a lovely calm water pool area that is better for swimming and more suitable for little ones.
When you’re all done and ready to go, be prepared to walk around 480 steps up!
Personal tip: This waterfall does get busy on weekends and holidays. For less people, go on a weekday morning. And make sure to be very careful on the rocks as they may be slippery.
Tips for Visiting the Waterfall
- There are facilities so you can bring a swimsuit/clothes to change into.
- There is a restaurant and souvenir shop at the trail head. You can get lunch, snacks, drinks, food.
- You can wear flip flops but it’s better with good shoes for the steps. If you plan to swim or go in the water, wear water shoes or hiking sandals.
- Make sure to bring water (there are water dispensers in the gift shop too).
- The climb back up can be tough, so take it slow. Be advised that this hike doesn’t have a handicap trail. If you are not able to go up and down steps for a long period of time, we don’t recommend going down. In the heat, the steps going back up can be very tough.
- If you don’t want to pay $18 USD for the waterfall or want something more local, head to El Salto. This is a local swimming hole at the Fortuna river that has a rope swing. It’s free so lots of locals go there. You don’t see the waterfall but you can swim in the river. On Google Maps, look for “El Salto Rope Swing”
Fortuna Waterfall Tours
If you have a car or don’t mind to taxi, you can visit the waterfall on your own. It’s easy to get to and you can do the walk down by yourself. A guide is not really necessary to visit the waterfall.
But if you don’t have a car, you can take a tour. This waterfall is usually part of a combo tour such as the Arenal Hanging Bridges + La Fortuna Waterfall or the Arenal Combo Tour. Get 7% off this tour and other tours in the Arenal area!
We did the hanging bridges + waterfall tour which you can watch below. Skip to 2:26 to see the waterfall.
Here are some other ideas of things to do the same day you visit the waterfall:
- Canyoning (waterfall rappeling) in the morning, lunch, La Fortuna waterfall
- Bogarin Trail (easy walk in downtown), lunch, La Fortuna waterfall
- La Fortuna waterfall morning, lunch, safari float afternoon (or other way around)
- Kayak/SUP in Lake Arenal, lunch, La Fortuna waterfall
- Horseback riding morning, La Fortuna waterfall
Want to read about other waterfalls in Costa Rica? Check these out!
Nauyaca Waterfalls (Dominical area)
Catarata Llanos de Cortes (Guanacaste)
Catarata del Toro (Central Valley)
Poza Azul (Sarapiqui)
This post has Amazon affiliate links.
Sammi says
Hi Lori, you probably can if you and your husband are fairly fit and strong because it is quite steep and there are a lot of steps (over 400). There are places to rest along the way on the platform and there are handrails so you can take it super slow but I would say you and your husband would need to be in decent shape to be able to carry both up and down. You can go into the reserve and take a peek to check how it is before you go down though and decide since I can’t really say that yes you can or no you can’t as it’ll depend on the parents’ fitness level but that is my recommendation.
Lori says
Hi ,
We have three small kids- ages 5, 3, 6m and would like to go to La Fortuna Waterfall. DO you think it is possible? Our 6m and 3 year old will be in a baby carrier. Is it too steep?
I would love any all all itinerary suggestion for travel with small kids in Costa Rica.
Krista says
Do you have to pay the fee if you just want to view the waterfall from the top and not take the steps down?
Sammi says
Yes, you have to pay the fee to go inside the park, you can’t see the waterfall or any of the viewpoints from outside the park.
Zoaib says
How deep is the water; do we need life jackets for people who cannot swim?
Sammi says
For swimming, they don’t recommend it for people who cannot swim because the pull of the waterfall can be very strong, the pool does get a bit deep and is dangerous for those who can’t swim.
yeison says
Hi The waterfall is located around 5 Kilometers from the park, I have read that a taxi charges around $20 one way to the waterfall from Arenal so it will be a bit less from La Fortuna Park, make sure they use a meter
David says
Thanks for the article. The waterfall’s website says it is $15 for adults, $8 for nationals, kids are free (up to age 8).
I was wondering about the parking lot… is it safe, is there a parking fee? I will be traveling with my luggage since we will be coming back from the beach to Grecia.
Thanks!
Sammi says
There is no parking fee but it’s not exactly secure (no guard/gate) but it is pretty busy cause it’s a popular waterfall so there are always a lot of cars and tourism vans going in and out. I’d put everything in the trunk and don’t leave anything in the car, take all your valuables with you.
SANA says
Hello!
We are going here next month. Wanted to know if we should just go ourselves or book a tour to see this? Also are we able to go inside the water near the waterfall? I v seen lots of pictures where people are in the water but dont see any mention of it .
Sammi says
You don’t necessarily need to go on a tour, if you have a rental car you can drive yourself or take a taxi if you don’t. It’s a pretty straightforward walk down to the waterfall. It is possible to swim in it but we didn’t because the water was too strong. In rainy season the fall is really full and strong and it’s dangerous if you swim too far in the pool. During dry season it’s not as full but we preferred not to go in, but you can swim in the pool if you want. Just be careful because there are a lot of rocks.
allison scow says
hi there,
How much can we expect to pay for a taxi one way from town?
THank you.
Andrea Hoke says
Hi! Can we bring our dog on leash?
Sammi says
I don’t believe so – I have never seen any dogs there and it’s on a private property.
Luke Robinson-Grant says
taxi’s cost 3500 colones each way if you go with just a local driver guy. a bit more 7 or 8 dollars if you go with a taxi driver in the red cabs. there is a phone at the entrance to call taxis when your done if you need.
Sammi says
Thanks for the info!
Delilah says
They have raised the price and it is now $14.00 for foreigners. The waterfall was beautiful but I thought the price was a bit steep, especially just having been to Llanos De Cortez. The water was to rough to swim by the waterfall so people were swimming in the small pool.
Sammi says
Hi Delilah! Thanks for the update. I totally agree, the price is quite a bit especially compared to some other awesome waterfalls in Costa Rica. It’s not even a long hike either, the waterfall is beautiful but unfortunately it seems because it’s so touristy they’ve raised the prices.
Kelli says
Hi there,
Do the arenal/mistico hanging bridges automatically lead to the La Fortuna waterfall? Is that a long hike? In that case, would you park at the entrance to the bridge park and hike there and back? Thanks for the great summary!
Sammi says
Hi Kelli, no the Mistico hanging bridges are near where the lake are and the waterfall is about a 20 minute drive away so you need to visit them separately.
Rick C says
Thank you for this write up! I’m headed there next week and looking forward to it. I was wondering too how much time the hike took.
Thanks
Sammi says
It depends on how long you want to stay there, the walk down is short, 400+ steps sounds like a lot but it’s really not. It takes around 15 minutes to go down, maybe a bit longer depending on how many people there are and if you stop to take pictures. You can stay as long as you want at the waterfall if you want to swim, just relax, chill. The walk up takes bit longer since it’s a lot of steps up – it took us around 10 minutes to run up the entire way (we did it for fun). The waterfall is great for a half day trip, most people just stay for about an hour or so.
Alice says
How much time does it take approximately to visit the waterfall? Is it the walk to the fall really long?
Sammi says
Hi Alice, you can stay for an hour or two, depending how long you want to swim and relax. And yes, the walk is really 400+ steps down so I suggest taking your time coming back up since it’s a lot of steps.
Jqmilqh says
Looking to visit Saturday with a group of 5. Looking for the cheapest option to get us there and back.
Sammi says
If you don’t rent a car, you’ll have to taxi or shuttle it. You can also go with a tour company who will take you on a guided hike. I recommend asking your hotel how much a shuttle or taxi would be.