If you’re staying in Uvita, then you must visit Catarata Uvita (Uvita Waterfall). It’s a small waterfall and swimming hole just outside town that has a natural waterfall slide. It’s a ton of fun for the whole family and is a beautiful way to cool off in the humid rainforest.
Here is our guide to Catarata Uvita (Uvita Waterfall) to help you plan your visit.
How to Get to Uvita Waterfall
Catarata Uvita is just a 10 minute drive from Uvita town center and can be reached in any car. You do not need a 4×4 to get to Catarata Uvita. However, there are some things to know.
There are two entrances to the Uvita Waterfall which are privately owned by separate people. Both offer parking, bathrooms, a small cafeteria and their own access to the waterfall. The main difference is one of that one of the entrances has a small trail and butterfly garden and their parking is down the hill off the main road. This entrance costs 2000 CRC per person.
On Google Maps, both entrances are called “Catarata Uvita.” The one that costs 2000 CRC is on Google Maps as “Catarata Uvita /.” The other is on Google Maps as “Catarata Uvita.”
The Catarata Uvita waterfall is open from 8 AM to 5 PM, open everyday.
Catarata Uvita / 2000 CRC Entrance
If you are driving, I prefer this entrance because their parking lot is down the hill so it’s not right off the main road. Their parking lot is also bigger than the other one and their cafeteria has a bigger menu.
Catarata Uvita 1500 CRC Entrance
This entrance has a smaller parking area and it’s right off the road. Their cafeteria is smaller.
Honestly you could go to either one. If the parking lot is full at one of them, just go to the other, they both take you to the waterfall.
Catarata Uvita (Uvita Waterfall)
We went to Catarata Uvita via the 2000 CRC per person entrance (the one with the butterfly garden). This was our third time visiting the waterfall over the course of 10 years and it’s changed a bit.
The trail still is kind of jungley but it’s much better with a platform and more well defined trails. You’ll reach the first swimming hole and then continue to walk through the river and over rocks to get to the actual Uvita Waterfall.
You can wear sandals though, it’s not necessary to wear hiking shoes or boots.
After a few minutes, you’ll arrive at the pool of Uvita waterfall. You can see that the rocks where the water flows over has smoothed out turning it into a natural water slide.
You can swim in the pool, stand under the water or slide down. The waterfall is not actually that tall so I don’t really recommend jumping off the top since the pool isn’t super deep but you can definitely slide down it. There is a ladder next to the waterfall that you can use to climb to the top.
Visiting Catarata Uvita
Uvita Waterfall is a wonderful little waterfall that’s easily accessible, cheap and fun. On the weekends and holidays, it gets busy with a lot of people but go early morning on a weekday and you can enjoy the waterfall with just a few other people.
For other waterfalls in the area, you can also visit Casacada el Pavon in Ojochal, about a 20 minute drive away. This one is also small, it’s free and has a cool rock on the top.
For a bigger waterfall, visit Nauyaca Waterfalls, outside Dominical, a 30 minute drive from Uvita. These are two huge waterfalls that are accessible via a 4 kilometer (2.5 miles) hike, 4×4 truck or horseback ride.
Emma Abdale says
Hi, I was hoping you could let me know if either of the trails are possible by wheelchair? Although I can stand and walk a small amount, lots of stairs or very steep terrain is difficult? The post below seems to indicate that the lower trail might be possible but everything else I read seems to suggest otherwise! Thanks so much
Sammi says
Hi Emma, to be honest I’m not sure if the trails are universal access, I would try to reach out to them directly to see, I don’t really think they are universal access… I remember we visited the lower trail and it requires walking, although they built some platforms but there are some steps and a short section through a dirt path, then to get to the actual fall, you will need to walk off the platform from what I remember. You can see in our pictures there is a section with some platforms when you get down to the waterfall but to get there you need to walk down some dirt paths, there are handrails though.
Paula says
Hello! I have seen your posts about the Uvita Waterfall and would like to clarify the following so that all tourists have the correct information. There are two separate entrances to the Uvita Waterfall, run by different businesses.
The first entrance is the one with the butterfly garden. It also has flat, well-marked trails that are easy to access, as they are suitable for people with physical disabilities or those in wheelchairs. This entrance includes access to the platforms and private parking for customers. Last year, there was a legal issue, and unfortunately, access to the platforms was lost for a year. However, this issue has now been resolved, and full access is available again.
The second entrance, which is about 200 meters further up, is another business that also provides access to the platforms. It has trails with stairs that are not flat but are still not too difficult to navigate. This business does not have a butterfly garden, but many tourists using the services of this business enter the butterfly garden without authorization from the other company (possibly because they were not informed that the flat trails and the butterfly garden are not part of the business where they paid the entrance fee), and when leaving comments, they often direct them to this business.
Both businesses are nice and offer good service; the only differences are that the first business has trails that are more accessible to everyone, along with the butterfly garden and private parking.
Victoria says
So glad I read the comments in advance. We went straight to the top car park, great access to all the pools and platforms followed by super yummy lunch at the top entrance café Catarata with terrace looking straight out into the jungle – really great morning out!
Jason W says
We just got back from taking our family here and we thought we should add that the lower trail and the upper trail are now two separate trails entirely. If you pay for the lower trail (like we did) they now block off the nice trail and you have to make your way through a rough rocky path following red arrows AND you don’t get access to do the platform jump. If you do the higher trail, it’s an easier (and more safe) trail, and you get access to the platform jump at the 2nd pool. We went to try the platform jump and there was a security guy that said we couldn’t do it because we paid through the first (lower) access. So I recommend to keep going to the higher access so you get an easier path and access to the cool platform jump.
Myriam says
We finally took the second one after making a stop in the first one to ask for some informations there. The first one has a bad way to reach the waterfall. Only on rocks and it can be sleepery. The second one gives access to the plateforms. There are several pannels telling that people who accessed through the first one don’t have access to the plateforms and that they should be given their money back. Apparently the neighbours are not friends… Price are now the same : 2000 col. Let’s resume : the first : better parking, butterfly but very bad way to access. Second one : good way to access, platform to rest but no butterflies and parking along the road. We parked there with all our luggages in the car, nothing happened. But we went there at 8:00 and didn’t stay for hours.
Andrew says
Went today, 8th March 2023
Took the first turnoff on the right, downhill to the larger carpark as mentioned.
2000c per person to enter, includes parking and butterfly house in price.
We saw howler monkey family and it started to rain which was nice under the trees when exploring.
Swam a little in the final pool and watched some people bounce down the slide.
Jessica says
Hi, took my family here yesterday! Totally worth it. The butterfly garden is a separate charge of 2000 CRC it is not included in your entrance fee. When we arrived there was a tour bus. Which at first made me sad but then the tour guides climbed the waterfall and we’re helping/instructing everyone how to slide down safety. It was wonderful. We felt very safe.
Tonya Kershner says
Hi! Do you know if it’s ok to bring a dog to this waterfall?
Sammi says
Yes i believe so according to their FB page
Wendy Lorenz says
Our family just went today (October 16, 2020) and the price has changed. 2 mil or $4. Also, they have a lovely Butterly garden there. We went through it on the way there and on the way back. It was such a wonderful trip for our family. And my oldest teenage son did slide down the waterfall. It’s rainy season, but it’s been dry these past few days. Even so, we didn’t want our youngest daughter trying it. The guy at the front was helpful, cautioning us about the dangers of the waterfall for a less strong swimmer.
Sammi says
Thanks for the feedback, hope you enjoyed it!
Steven Bright says
We just recently purchased a house in Playa Azul were wondering where some of the hidden waterfalls are