Costa Rica has plenty of natural attractions but one of the most treasured ones are their waterfalls. Waterfalls can be found in every corner of the country and it’s one of the best ways to enjoy the natural beauty of Costa Rica.
When it comes to one of the best waterfalls in Costa Rica, Nauyaca waterfalls are definitely one of our favorites. Here is our guide to visiting this amazing natural beauty including tips for what to wear, how to get there and what you need to know about these waterfalls before you go.
Location
Nauyaca waterfalls map.
How to get to Nauyaca Waterfalls
The waterfalls are located on a private property owned by a Costa Rican family, Don Lulo. These are the GPS coordinates to plug into Google Maps or Waze: 9.280789 , -83.822594. If you look in Waze, you will find it there too.
The office for the waterfalls is on the road from Dominical to Platanillo, about a ten minute drive from where you turn left onto Route 243 from the Costanera highway on the way to San Isidro de General. If you have crossed the bridge and pass Dominical, you have gone too far. The turn is at a very obvious intersection with signs to Platanillo.
Once you turn left, you will see signs leading to the entrance and you will see a large waterfall sign at the office. When you see the office, you will see a road entrance about a kilometer north. The trail head is below from this entrance and you can park in the lot where the horse stables are.
The road is well paved but there is a small section when you drive down from the office to the parking lot that is steep and unpaved. You can go in a sedan but go slow! A 4×4 is highly recommended for the South Pacific area however so it will be very useful to rent a SUV.
Nauyaca Waterfalls Entrance Fee and Hours
The entrance fee for the waterfalls is $8 per person. If you want to take the horseback riding tour, it is $70 per person and you need to make reservations before hand. You can book the tour through a tour company if you don’t have a car. The pick up truck ride is $25 per person.
Hike, Truck or Horseback Ride
There are three ways to get to the waterfall. You can hike, go on a truck or go horseback riding. The trail is about 4 kilometers through the dense rain forest.
Horseback Riding
We have gone horseback riding twice and it’s a very nice ride through the forest. They include a small breakfast and lunch on the tour. You’ll first ride to the little cottage to have a snack breakfast, ride to the waterfalls and then go back to the cottage for lunch.
Hiking
The trail is the same for both hiking and horseback riding so if you are hiking, make sure you are prepared to get a little bit dirty and wet, especially in rainy season. There are some puddles and muddy spots along the way (not to mention some horse poo).
The hike takes about 1-1.5 hours one way depending on how fast you walk to the waterfalls.
Truck
The third option is brand new – a pick up truck! It costs $25 per person and you go in a truck to the waterfalls. This is by far the easiest and fastest way to get to the waterfalls.
The Waterfalls
Upper Falls
The upper falls comprises of several cascades and you can’t swim or bathe in this area. You can walk around the rocks (careful it’s slippery) to get amazing views of the upper fall and the top of the lower falls.
This upper falls is a 45 meter drop. Also keep your eyes out when you go up there because I saw an otter jump into the water once!
Lower Falls
This is where most people spend their time, the lower falls. There is a lovely deep pool you can swim and bathe in and plenty of rocks to sit on. You get a stunning view of both waterfalls surrounded by lush green jungle and the sounds of nature.
This second fall is a tiered waterfall of 20 meters and the pool is six meters deep.
You can have a picnic, lay around, swim, or jump off the ledge of the waterfall. The local guides tie a rope onto the rocks and help visitors up so they can climb up and jump off. Be very careful and don’t try to climb up there on your own if there’s no guide, it is quite slippery!
Video
Yeison brought his drone and took an amazing video of the waterfalls from the air. See what it looks like from above and watch one of the guides leap off a high ledge of the waterfall. Truly amazing!
What to Wear
- You can bring your swimsuit and change there. There are facilities in the area where you walk down to the waterfalls.
- Bring lots of water, bug repellent and sunscreen. It is humid there with lots of bugs!
- There are no food or snack stands so bring your own.
- Bring waterproof equipment if you plan on bringing electronics. A waterproof backpack is highly recommended.
- Wear closed toed shoes (not flip flops) since it get muddy/steep on some parts of the trail and the rocks are slippery at the waterfall. We wore our KEENs hiking sandals and they were perfect since they are perfect for going from water to land. If you wear tennis shoes, you’re going to have wet socks and shoes by the end of the hike.
- You can wear shorts and a tank top/short sleeve shirt. If you are visiting in rainy season, I do recommend a rain jacket.
I recommend going there as early as possible if you want to have it for yourself. This waterfall has gotten very popular and it gets crowded in the afternoon, particularly the months of December – April.
When it comes to water levels, we visited in February and August. The photos and video is from our visit in February and when we visited in August, the waterfall was SO full, we couldn’t walk down to the pool at it because it wasn’t there! It was extremely windy and not nice for swimming. During rainy season the waterfalls are a lot fuller, so if you’re visiting August – October, make sure to see how the conditions are because when we visited in August, all we could do is stay near the steps as it was raining too hard.
Remember, this is the South Pacific of Costa Rica where it is very humid and can rain even in the dry season so pack appropriately. When we visited in February, it poured every day for almost a week! Check out our ultimate Costa Rica packing list and rainy season packing list for more tips.
Where Can You Visit From?
You can visit the Nauyaca Wateralls from Manuel Antonio, Dominical, Uvita and Ojochal. From Manuel Antonio, it is about a 45 minute drive. From Uvita, it is about 25 minutes. But you do need a car, it is very complicated to get there via bus. If you don’t have a car, there are some tour companies from Manuel Antonio who offer this tour such as Paddle 9.
If you are in Dominical and want to do the horseback riding tour, the company, Don Lulo offers transportation for an additional cost.
Hike, Truck or Horseback Ride?
For the Nauyaca Waterfalls hike, I recommend people to be in moderate shape. It is hot and humid with bugs so if that doesn’t sound appealing to you, then I recommend going on the horseback riding tour. And if horses don’t appeal to you, then there is the pick up truck option.
The horse back riding tour is from 8 AM to 2 PM. Kids over 3 years old can do the horseback ride by themselves, if they are younger they must be accompanied with an adult. The weight limit for the horseback ride is 104 kg or 230 lbs.
But the hike is wonderful since you can take your time, take pictures and spot wildlife (lots of sloths and toucans in this area). Definitely worth every step!
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This is one of the most magnificent natural attractions I’ve ever seen in Costa Rica. It is now one of my top favorite waterfalls along with the Catarata Llanos de Cortes in Guanacaste and Catarata del Toro in the Central Valley. You can read about other Costa Rica waterfalls we love in this post.
Looking for more things to do in Dominical? Check out our top 10 things to do in Dominical and Uvita post!
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Sammi says
Hi Dianna, I am not sure if you will be able to do Manuel Antonio to Nauyaca by bus (enjoyably) due to the schedule and the bus will only drop you off at the entrance office, the falls is still a long way in (around 4 kilometers one way). You need to take the bus from Quepos to San Isidro, ask the driver to get off at Nauyaca and for the whole hike and time staying at the fall is around 4-5 hours (or you can take the truck which saves some time). If you want to take the bus, it looks like there’s a bus from Quepos to San Isidro at 530 AM and 1130 AM and a bus from San Isidro to Quepos back at 1130 AM. The bus ride from Quepos to Nauyaca is maybe around 2-2.5 hours so you will need to make sure you make it to the entrance office by 1130 AM.
Dianna says
Hey, first of all I wanna say that your posts about Costa Rica have been super helpful to me as I plan a 5 day trip for my boyfriend and I. We are going this May and will be in Quepos for about 2 1/2 days, which I fear isn’t long enough for everything we want to see/do. But we’re trying to make the most of our time without feeling too rushed. This waterfall has essentially been on and off our list several times because while we really want to see it, we aren’t sure we’ll have time. One of the issues is that we won’t have a rental car and are depending mostly on the public transportation in an effort to keep costs low. I have had trouble finding info on getting to the waterfall via bus. I realize it will make the ride longer and I have no problem getting up a little earlier to ensure that we have plenty of time to enjoy it. But I am wondering if the bus would drop us off at the entrance area or if we would have to find additional transportation from where ever it does drop off. I’m also wondering how getting a bus back would work. Any help or advice on this issue would be really helpful! Thanks 🙂
lango says
Hi,
Is the falls closed on Christmas day? We are visiting this month and want to hike on our own to the falls.
Thanks!
Sammi says
Ni Iango, the falls are open but only for hiking.
Kelly says
We area travelling to the area in January. Do you know if the pick up truck option is still available? Do you we need to book ahead of time and what time would you recommend getting there? Your website has been so helpful in planning our trip. Thanks so much for your help!
Sammi says
Hi Kelly, it should be and I do recommend booking in advance because the waterfalls are very popular and January is a busy time. I recommend going early in the morning (weather down in the South Pacific doesn’t always adhere strictly to dry/rainy season and we have been there in February where it poured rain for days) and so you can have all day to enjoy it.
Sammi says
About 25 minutes
Ashley Cubillo Devine says
How long is the drive from Uvita?
Sierpe Outfitters says
Beautiful video!! good info too! thank you!
Sammi says
Thanks!
Jeff says
Going in a few weeks , is the waterfall still worth the hike in the dry season. Went to a few last year in feb. that were just a trickle
Sammi says
I think so – the pictures in the post were taken when we went in February 2015 and it was gorgeous. Way better than when we went last August when it had way too much water
Saana says
Hi! How much time do we estimate for the whole trip including the horse back riding part to the waterfalls 🙂 We plan to head out there from Manuel Antonio
yeison says
Hi Saana, around 6 hours from Manuel Antonio but it all depends of how long the group will stay at the waterfall and traffic.
Landon says
Could you give me an idea of how long it would take to vist this waterfall. We are driving from San Jose to Uvita and wondering if this would be a good stop. Our flight gets in at 11 so there is no way to get an early start.
Thanks
Sammi says
The hike 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) each way so you won’t be able to stop by on your way to Uvita. It gets dark at 6 PM and by the time you drive from San Jose to Dominical, it’ll be at least 2 or 3 PM and the waterfalls close at 6 PM. You should do it the day after or during your time in Uvita since Uvita and Dominical are very close. You need at least 5-6 hours for this waterfall/hike.
Sammi says
Manuel Antonio to Dominical is a fairly straightforward, paved road. However, if you are planning on driving to the waterfall do know that the property’s parking lot requires a SUV because the road down although short, is not paved and very steep with lots of holes. YOu may be able to scrape by with a sedan but even the tour people and property owners told us it’s better to have a SUV. You can get a short glimpse of what the road is like in this video of the horseback riding tour here: Nauyaca waterfalls horseback riding tour
Evelyn says
Ok, the thing is we’re planning on renting a sedan because we’re only using it to go from San Jose to Manuel Antonio and Puerto Viejo, but we want to go to the waterfalls, and i can’t find any information on tours departing from Manuel Antonio and going to the waterfall. So renting a SUV just for that part of the trip it seems a little too much.
Sammi says
You can probably do it with a sedan, just be super careful because it is a bit steep and unpaved. But if it rains, it might not be possible since it’ll be super slippery and muddy. So you can probably get away with a sedan for that area (I think I remember seeing a Honda Civic in our group), just drive very carefully.
Olga says
We just went there few days ago.
Here is the scoop.
There is 4 kilometers steep and pretty bumpy road that we drove to the point where the parking is. We had AWD and it was pretty rough, so I would NOT recommend sedan at all, even to get to their parking lot. Then, there is another 4km to the falls that you can either walk or ride a horse.
After parking lot there is about 1-1.5 kilometers you still can drive down, but ONLY if you have 4WD, but then – there is absolutely no way. There is a huge boulder on the way and the road is pretty much impassible by any vehicle. So, we hiked for another 2.5 kilometers.
Now, if you don’t might hiking, I would recommend rather to do that, since if you manage to get there before (or after) the horseback riding group does, you have the place pretty much to yourself, except may be very few people that also were walking by their own (or none). We did that and that was awesome, but then – bid group of horseback riders arrived and it got little crowded. Not to mention the price difference.
Enjoy.
Evelyn says
Hi! How’s the road to get there driving from Manuel Antonio? Can you do it in a sedan?
Gareth says
great thanks 🙂
Could you please explain the difference between the Nauyaca Waterfalls and the Baru Waterfalls? The internet shows pictures of them both as the same thing, it’s very confusing hahah
Sammi says
I have no idea, maybe Baru was their previous name. Never heard of it
Gareth says
Is there a specific opening time for entrance to the waterfall?
Sammi says
The office opens around 8 AM. You have to stop by there and pay your fee.
Zascha says
A friend of mine used to live in Costa Rica, and the more stories she tells me about that place, the more I want to go there.
And this post certainly helps. Such a beautiful waterfall!
Sammi says
Hi Zascha, glad you enjoyed it. It is a gorgeous waterfall! Hope you can visit one day!