A relaxing day in the Talamanca mountains

Cerro de la Muerte hides some amazing places to spend the day outdoors, and this time we visited two gems: Laguna Manuel, located in Santa María de Dota, and we ended the day with an epic view from the antennas at the top of the mountain. Nature, fresh air, incredible landscapes and that joy of hitting the road without overthinking it.

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Useful info for your visit

📍 How to get there

Laguna Don Manuel, Santa María de Dota
Take the South Interamerican Highway towards Cerro de la Muerte, and turn right at El Empalme gas station towards Santa María de Dota. Drive 8.1 km until you reach the lagoon entrance.

Cerro de la Muerte antennas
Continue along the Interamerican Highway, pass the second Chespiritos restaurant and drive about 25 more minutes to the entrance (follow the Waze link to be safe).

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🚗 Vehicle

Any regular car is fine — 4x4 not necessary for either destination.

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💵 Costs

• Laguna Manuel: ₡1500 per person
• Antennas: Free!

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⏱️ Duration

• Lagoon: 20–30 minutes walk around the lake
• Antennas: Open time, no limit

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🎒 What to bring

• Camera
• Comfortable clothes, jacket or sweater
• Snacks, picnic blanket
• Optional: hot chocolate or tea to enjoy at the top

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Our day at Laguna Manuel & Cerro de la Muerte antennas

Laguna Don Manuel

We hit the road early and drove along the Florencio del Castillo Highway towards Cartago, then turned right towards the road to Cerro de la Muerte. After about 45 minutes and passing the Los Santos wind farm, we reached El Empalme gas station, where we turned right again towards Santa María de Dota.

The road offers stunning views, but what really amazed us was this place called Laguna Manuel. We’re not sure why it’s called that, but the friendly guy at the entrance gave us great vibes right away.

We paid the entrance fee (₡1500). Though you can hike up, the road was in such good shape that we decided to drive the last 1.5 km. When we reached the top… surprise! A lake hidden in the forest, at the peak of the hill.

You can park anywhere by the lake, there are picnic tables, restrooms, and a beautiful sense of peace and stillness. You might see frogs, wild ducks (not the kind you see in La Sabana), and squirrels. Walk around, climb a tree, lie on the grass, look for berries, eat an apple and simply enjoy the cozy vibe of this magical place.

Santa María de Dota

After enjoying the lagoon, we drove down to check out the town of Santa María de Dota, known for having the best coffee in Costa Rica. It’s the perfect stop for a snack and a chill stroll.

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Cerro de la Muerte antennas

By then, hunger had kicked in — so we hit up the legendary Chespiritos 24/7 buffet, where you’ll find all the comfort food you can imagine. Just make sure to look around before loading your plate — it’s a 10-meter bar full of tempting options.

Once full and happy, we started wondering where to end our road trip. We wanted something mystical, with no hiking, epic views, and a place to just veg out. Karlita pulled up a Google pic of the Cerro antennas and said: “Let’s go here!”

By instinct, we remembered the ballast road that leads up to the antennas, so we got in the car and drove about 25 minutes up the hill.

Fog rolled in, which made the entrance hard to spot, but we finally found it. We parked and walked about 25 meters to the edge of the mountain — passed some bushes and boom! A mind-blowing panoramic view of the Talamanca mountain range.

If you’re lucky, you’ll see Chirripó in the distance and even the Pacific Ocean to the right.

We ended the day drinking hot chocolate in the car, because the cold hit hard at over 3400 meters above sea level. But as always, we had a blast.

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