Before our departure to Costa Rica, I envisioned tropical rain forests, charming beaches, and breathtaking waterfalls.

Thus far, we’ve seen some of her lushness in Manuel Antonio and at Poás, experienced two of her gorgeous and sizzling beaches on the South West coast, and now finally, given our thirst to view her waterfalls a fantastic first taste.

When searching for information on getting to Los Chorros, I stumbled upon another traveling family’s blog, Pearce on Earth. Via their post on Los Chorros Waterfalls, I understood that we could get to it by taking a short bus ride from Grecia and then an even shorter taxi to the falls.

Having a little knowledge of the local language, I was confident that all would pan out just fine. And it did…

While we waited for the Alajuela bus to leave from Grecia, we hopped on a couple bar stools available at a café called something like Tostadas.

A few minutes later, I was sharing the best chocolate frappuccino of my life. My son preferred the chocolate-drizzled whip cream, while I gave myself a few–well worth it–brain-freezes.

The bus ride was a quick and painless 15-20 minutes. With all the signs leading up to the town, we didn’t have to ask the bus driver if it was indeed Tacares.

Finding a taxi was a bit tricky at first, but confronting strangers is the solution in these cases. We were directed to go around the esquina (corner), where we found a sign which read: Parada De Taxis (stop for taxis).

We stood for maybe three minutes, and a red SUV taxi appeared. Elí drove us the 5ish minutes to Los Chorros debajo, and gave us his card to call when we were ready to leave. (Elí arrived less than 5 minutes after we called for him to pick us up).

The higher trail is not recommended for baby-wearers. The gate was closed, so we followed the example of a family of Costa Ricans as they passed through a cinderblock-built opening.

I don’t think I could fit through this if I had been nine months pregnant. We had to lift the kids over our heads as we squeezed through.

Once through the “you must be this small to go on this ride” passageway, we followed the gravel road down the hill until we came to a small wooden entrada sign. This is the start of the maybe half-kilometer trail to the falls.

You wouldn’t realize you were headed for such an encompassing, green forest. The path is lined mostly with a bamboo fence, but watch out for humongous ants filing along it.

I would hate to be chomped on by one of those bad boys! The trail follows the rapid river below, and echoes with tropical bird songs. It’s a fairly easy walk, but I plan on wearing hiking boots next time, as it was slippery.

The trail opens into a two-level park setting, with several picnic tables along a beach below and near a bridge above. There, a friendly representative collected our entrance fee of 3,000 colones ($6) each.

It is 2,000colones for residents. He lead us down to the waterfall, and let us know it was raining at the higher spot for viewing another waterfall… probably not a good idea with the kids.

I couldn’t be disappointed, however, with the unreal (or maybe, what real truly is?) view before us. Simply majestic–pictures cannot even capture how beautiful this spot on Earth is.

We explored some by crawling under the bridge and tip-toeing around a corner to fully grasp the grand Los Chorros Waterfalls. My husband snuck farther than I dared, and stretched his hands out to feel the cool mist bursting up to meet him.

The view adjacent to the falls was worth the trip alone. A large, splashing river dashed against rocks and boulders as it made its way around to merge with the waterfall, and then they flowed together along the path we had taken. We followed the river back to the picnic tables and stripped our boy down to his birthday suit.

He was silently pleased as he found stones and mud to toss into the traveling water about his feet. It was shallow enough to let him wander on his own, as I sat on a nearby rock and enjoyed the rushing water as well.

Even though it was raining, it didn’t trouble our excursion in the least. The strong canopy above shielded us from most of the down pour, only allowing in the lightest shower through.

This scene was what the wordtranquilo was meant for.
We promised our son that we’d return again soon. This was too much beauty to see only once.

If you are in the Grecia area, and want to see Los Chorros Waterfalls, here are some tips from our experience:

• Take the bus from Grecia central to Alajuela (it will be in the center of the station, and departs every half hour).
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• Stop in Tacares and go in the opposite direction as the bus that dropped you off. Make your first right and the taxi stop is across the street (looks like a little bus stop).
• Our taxi driver lives in the area. You could call him to arrange a pick up: Elí Chaves 8585-0299.
• The bus returns to Grecia every 20 minutes from the same stop in Tacares.
• Bring a lunch, camera, good walking shoes/boots, a towel, and an umbrella (well, you should always have an umbrella handy in the rainy season!).

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The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) ranks Atenas as one of “The Best Places to Retire Abroad.” For more information about homes and land for sale in the area please telephone our Recommended Realtors in Atenas Dennis Easters and Gerardo Gonzalez-Porras on (506) 8854-7721 or contact him using the simple form below:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.