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Manantial de Agua Viva Waterfall Review

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Manantial de Agua Viva Waterfall

  • Address: From the coastal highway south to Jacó, turn left onto dirt road at Hotel Villa Lapas sign. The reserve is about 9 km/5½ mi past Villa Lapas, Tárcoles
  • Phone: 661-8263

Fodor's Review:

You can hike, ride horseback, or drive to the beautiful 656-foot Manantial de Agua Viva Waterfall deep in a lush forest. Its 10 natural pools are great for a refreshing dip after your ride or hike. The waterfall is within the private Complejo Ecológico la Catarata (Waterfall Ecological Reserve), which has guides who lead tours to the waterfall. The horseback ride is four hours. A tough 2½-km (1½-mi) trail makes a loop through the woods, passing the waterfall and pools; it takes between 40 minutes and two hours to hike, depending on how much bird-watching you do. Good physical condition and hiking shoes are necessary. Parrots, monkeys, scarlet macaws, and most of the other animals found in the nearby Carara Biological Reserve live in the forest here. For $40 you can take a guided horseback ride into the park. Trips depart at 8:30 AM and 2 PM.

  • Cost: $15
  • Open: Daily 8-4
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