During this trip we slept like cavemen at a 5 star cave, we saw the best sunset in the world at the top of one of the highest waterfalls in Costa Rica and we bathed in the most refreshing pools of Perez. This spot is almost unreal and we assure you that nothing can top it.

How to get there? Waze Vehicle: Every vehicle arrives.

**What to bring? ** Three changes of clothes for walking comfortably, tennis shoes, sandals, bathing suit, pajamas, towel, a bottle of water to fill, adjustable headlights, repellent, board games (nothing heavy), and excellent attitude.

Difficulty: Medium-High Distance: 2km to reach the base (under the waterfall) Parking: Yes Pets: No Camping: No Weather: We went for 1 night and had a good time. But you can book for only 1 day or as many as you want. Cost: Tour one day $ 60 Tour one night $ 107

• Price for nationals Contact: Anne Ledezma of Pacific Journeys Tel. 22661717 - 8325-9818 [email protected]

We left at 5 am from San Jose towards Pérez, we had lunch in San Isidro and then we got to Las Tumbas where we met the Pacific Journeys staff in the offices next to the soccer field. Here we waited like an hour for other people to pass so we could climb the mountain.

We are able to leave the car at a farm where the path begins, so this saved us some walking time. The path is very steep but it is in excellent condition, in 2 kms you climb 700 m vertically. Luckily the jungle protected us from a sunstroke. The first stop we did was halfway through the hill, where we tried termites (I can’t say I tried them myself) but some said they tasted like carrots and others like peanuts.

Then we continued up the massive hill until we stopped at the garden, a paradise of bushes of all kinds, from exotic fruits with banana-mango-pineapple flavor to lemongrass (I swear it smells like fruit-loops) and citronella. You really learn a lot there and want to try almost everything. The coolest we tried was the miraculous fruit, it looks like a red coffee bean, you chew it without biting the seeds for twenty seconds and out of the blue... they gave us an acid lemon, hoping to get a terrible acid taste, instead it blocks the acid and tastes magically sweet ... It’s an interesting fruit.

After the delight of fruits and vegetables, we walked for 15 minutes more and went down some steps and unexpectedly arrived at the diamond cascade where we would stay that night. It is amazing to know that one sleeps behind a waterfall, in a giant stone cave with all the comforts necessary. The cave is so wide and open that it makes it clear to see and refreshing, if you approach the edge you’ll get a breeze with dew from the water that falls a few meters away.

After a while, they gave us a delicious lunch and we got ready to go up the mountain to some pools with more waterfalls. The slope was not ideal for digesting the food but It was worth the walk in exchange for the dip. We jumped off a rock into the water (except Glori) and we all enjoyed ourselves in the pool until we started freezing to death.

We went back to the batcave where we served ourselves a coffee and rushed downhill to catch the sunset that undoubtedly marked our lives. First, we had never done hiking with a cup in hand and second, we were watching the sun fall into the sea from the mountain on the stone of a waterfall that falls several hundred meters below. The wonderful thing about all this is that we had the best view of the beach and the mountains at the same time, the awesomeness of seeing the sun fall on the ocean mixed with the majesty of seeing it framed between classic green mountains of the South Pacific.

Alright so then after the sunset event we went back to the cave armed with strapped headlights to wait for the longed for delicious dinner.

The next day we got up relaxed to have breakfast at 8 am, we had the pleasure of seeing how the sun gradually invaded the stone of the waterfall until it was our turn to do rappel. The rappel we did was in the same waterfall where we slept so we only had to climb 30m vertical until we reached the area where we were going to be strapped. Something neat is that we could climb down in pairs and give support to each other while going down, and this is where our trip started coming to an end.

After so much adventure in so little time, tired and at the same time full of energy we decided to go down the mountain to say goodbye to this place that really goes out of the traditional and ordinary. The name Diamante (diamond) is not even close to the value that this place has, this trip is truly a treasure within everyone's reach and we hope that you will conquer it someday