We set ourselves the challenge of visiting the largest number of waterfalls and pools in Pérez Zeledón in one weekend and it was incredible. We did all the video and photo production with the Motorola Edge 20 Pro and the result was spectacular. You can find it in all Gollo stores in the country and also at Gollotienda.com

How to get there?

Go along Route 27 and then the Costanera Sur until you reach Dominical and then to the Platanillo de PZ area. If you are from the east, it is probably better to take Route 2 through the Cerro de La Muerte and then go down from PZ towards Barú until you reach Platanillo.

Waze:

Ecochontales: https://waze.com/ul/hd1smhnt1e

Red Frog Waterfall: https://waze.to/lr/hd1smhjpgb

Elysian Waterfall: https://waze.com/ul/hd1skurgmn

La Ceiba Eco Adventures: https://waze.to/lr/hd1skv0g3b

Namu Falls: https://waze.to/lr/hd1ss63ykq

San Gabriel Waterfall: https://waze.com/ul/hd1ss64szh

Distance:

Eco Chontales: 2 km

Red Frog: 1.5 km

Elysian: 2 km

La Ceiba: 6 km

Namu: 3 km

Saint Gabriel: 1 km

Difficulty: Moderate

Accessibility: Not accessible

What to bring? Fresh clothes, swimsuit, repellent, sunscreen, towel, change of clothes, picnic food.

Vehicle: Tall Wagon

Parking: Yes

Pets: Consult in each place

Camping: Yes

Contact:

Ecochontales: 8334-2422 / 8540-1934

Red Frog: 8617-0449

Elysiana: https://www.cascadaelysiana.com/

La Ceiba: 8980-5257

Namu: 8345 2952

St. Gabriel: 8574-6202

Cost:

Ecochontales: 3,500

Red Frog: 3,000

Elysian: 3,000

Ceiba: 3,000

Namu: 4,000

Saint Gabriel: 2000

DAY 1

We set ourselves an intense challenge, but we knew that it was going to be very cool, visiting many waterfalls in 2 days in PZ. We left San José very early and arrived at 11 am at Eco Chontales Waterfall, our first stop on the Water Route. When we arrived it was cloudy and then it started to rain until suddenly the water was gone, so we started walking towards the waterfall.

To get to the waterfall we took about 10 minutes along a very nice path until we came face to face with the majestic Eco Chontales waterfall. At this time the waterfall is with less water due to the summer, but it is still a very cool waterfall and perfect for taking very good photos. While here, we enjoyed the place, we took incredible photos, we got into the pool and finally we went to a canyon that is below so that Tavo could jump to a height of 8 meters. He was the only one who was encouraged to do so. This place does not disappoint and for everyone's peace of mind they even have a restaurant.

Our second stop on the route was Rancho Rana Roja, this beautiful and cozy place is 20 minutes away. Here we had a delicious casado for lunch, one of the specialties of this place is that the food is the best. After lunch we went for a walk along the river. There is something that should be highlighted about Rana Roja, and that is that it has the most beautiful pools we have ever seen, they make you want to stay for hours and you also feel protected by the trees.

You walk about 500 meters upstream, and as the name says, many red frogs can be seen along the way. We went through many pools that were too crystalline, until we reached the last one, which is a delicious little waterfall with a delicious pool. Obviously, we stayed here for a while because we had to enjoy it. This place has another very cool waterfall but it was dry in the summer. We went back to Rana Roja's restaurant around 4 pm to drink a hot beverage with a killer roasted tamale.

Then we continued our walk to Elysiana waterfall that is located on the way to the exit of Platanillo de Barú, where dinner awaited us and then we rested in our jungle surrounded rooms.

DAY 2

We woke up to the sound of the monkeys in Cascada Elysiana, and with this nice alarm we went to the restaurant of this place to eat a plate of fruit with coffee and then get ready to walk the trails. This place is such a breath of fresh air, it is also perfect for yoga retreats or simply resting.

The path we took took us to the Cascada Elysiana which, being summer, we found slightly very dry, even so it is cool to walk along the path, when it has water it is very cool, but enjoying the places, even if it is not what we expect, is still worth it.  

We got back in the car to drive another half hour to La Ceiba Eco Adventures. After getting ready we started walking along the path that leads to the coolest waterfall on the farm called La Raíz. For that we had to walk for about 45 minutes downhill, the trail starts wide and then becomes more technical and steep reaching the waterfall.

When we arrived we came across a perfect waterfall, with a delicious pool where we jumped in and enjoyed about 1 hour and we could have stayed much longer, seriously it is very beautiful and if you don't believe it you can see the photos. Then we dried off and laid down on the big rocks in front of her for a while until it was time to get back in the car to continue our route to the falls.

After getting super sweaty to the car because it is 2km uphill with a lot of humidity, we continued our route towards Pérez Zeledón where we had lunch quickly, we continued towards Pejibaye and then we turned left until we reached the Namú Falls in San Antonio.

In Namú the owners received us and without much prior notice we began to walk down about 20 minutes until we reached the falls. This place is incredibly beautiful, there are 3 falls with giant pools where you can enjoy a whole day. We went to the middle one where you can see the highest waterfall and also where the richest pool is located. Although they did not have as much water as usual, the pool was very calm and it is huge, so it is a place that can be enjoyed at any time.

Around 3 pm the day was over and we still needed to go to the last waterfall of the PZ Waterfalls Route, so we got back in the car and just 10 minutes from Namú we arrived at the San Gabriel waterfall.

Here we were received by a lady who opened the gate of the farm for us. The great advantage of this place is that you can get to the waterfall by car (4×4) otherwise you have to leave the car outside the farm and walk, so we save ourselves that walk to get to it. 

To give you an idea, this waterfall is like a giant stone slide, being summer it was a bit dry but it was still enough to close this incredible weekend water tour.

It was a great experience, although very intense. If you want to go more relaxed you can do 2 waterfalls per day. And if you like to challenge yourself like we do, we invite you to come along with this Water Route, you won't regret it.