We went to discover an insane place, with tremendous views and the best thing of all...is that it has amazing rivers hidden within.
We left around 7 am from San Jose heading to Puntarenas, we followed the straight road through the Interamericana highway and turned right at the arrow that says Miramar. From here we continue about 20 minutes more to go to buy snacks from a minisuper.
After crossing the center of Miramar we continued for another 20 minutes until we almost reached the top of the road but came across some gentlemen so we asked them for the path with the lookout... it was then that they told us that getting into a Ballast road to the right (where they were) we were going to find the best views of all of Miramar.
The road up there is very steep and it needs to be 4 × 4, or it is also walkable in half an hour. Once you reach the paddock at the top of the mountain it is clear to understand why this place bears the name of Miramar (Sea lookout) because it has an insane view of the entire Gulf of Nicoya and if it is clear enough you can really see everything and more than expected. (In order to see everything clear, it is advisable to arrive during the morning, since in the afternoon it gets foggy).
The place this is all grass pretty much, with some medium size stones thrown on the hill that give a mystical touch to the spot, the view is amazing and the wind is crazy. It is ideal to stay the day picnicking but since we were still halfway into our trip ... we had to get up and go discover the La Mina River. We also took the opportunity to take pics, play with the dogs and enjoy that sight.
We continued our journey in search of the river, then we went down for 20 minutes until we found the entrance that would take us to the bridge of the La Mina River. These mountains are called Montes de Oro since they are apparently full of gold, that is why there are so many mines nearby such as the Monte del Aguacate, in Las Juntas de Abangares and others.
When we reached the bridge of this river it looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary, so we parked the car and got out with all the junk. We started to walk upstream and in less than 100 meters we saw a very rocky wall rises with an incredible canyon. We crossed the river once more after dodging a colony of crazy ants and reached the stones at the bottom of the canyon.
Once on the stones, we could see the entire river bed as it reached the end to a small waterfall. Then we got ready to enter the water and walk to the bottom of the canyon. The stone walls that surround this place are at least 15 meters high, and the bottom of the river is pure stone, something nice is that it’s not slippery to walk and the forest on the mountain makes a super cozy shadow to walk under.
You have to be very careful in the waterfall, what we recommend is to stay in the little pond, which is tiny but it has a swirl with a current that makes it a bit dangerous, Glori almost got sucked in, this at least in winter, maybe in summer it's calmer.
After being here for a while, we did a mini picnic and then pick up our stuff and finish our trip, happy to have discovered this amazing place.
BONUS !!! Go eat pizza at the El Bambú Restaurant ... really good, with extra cheese and a homemade flavor.