Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park — Attraction in Barú

2 ENTRANCES TO THE WATERFALL - VERY IMPORTANT.

One is between Dominical and Platanillo, and you go on paved road all the way. The company is called CATARATA NAUYACA. You pay 10 usd entrance, get a wristband, and hike either 6 km each way, if you leave your car by the office, or 4 km each way - if you decided to pay additional 4 usd for parking that saves you 2km each way of walk. This 2 km is not very interesting, it is just a paved steep road. I recommend to pay for parking.

You can pay more and be taken to the waterfall by a vehicle - I believe it is 30 usd per person or horse - I believe this option was 80 usd. There are bathrooms by the ticket office, paid parking and also the entrance to the waterfall.

The hike is medium level hike, mostly shaded, doable any time time of the day, signs are done well. Ut is not flat, not too steep, maybe a little steep at times :) The 4km hike took us about one hour each way. We enjoyed it.

Another entrance is near SAN SALVADOR and when we started driving from Uvita, google maps took us there. Dont go this one unless you enjoy driving on steep curvy gravel roads with some holes. The road was horrible. Suitable only for 4x4. We had 4x4 but I hated the road that much, that after 10 mins of driving it, we decided to turn around. Total distance was 10km and driving time 30 minutes. If the google map takes you from Uvita to waterfall via Dominicalito/ makes you turn right before you reach Dominical and you get away from paved road, DO NOT CONTINUE driving.

The other entrance company is called "Waterfalls Nauyaca" and they charge 20 usd incl shuttle ride one way or 30 usd incl shuttle ride both ways. I believe cheaper entrance and only hike option is not available.

So, there are 2 entrances, and property of 2 companies how to get there. Each company owns land on one side of the waterfall and they are not friends, because we couldnt be in the property y the river of the other company. But you can be in the river or in the rocks :) If you enter through Catarata company side - the one between Dominical and Platanillo, I recomme d crossing the river, even tho rocks are supet slippery. Sun and better view is on the other side.

Waterfall is georgous, it is actually 2 waterfalls for the price of one.

You need at least one day for the trip, but it was that beautiful, that we made it a full day trip.

There is a small restaurant half way of the hike, they sell water and drinks, not sure about the food. No drinks and food sale near the...

*WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER THEY LOCKED US UP IN THE PARK ON PURPOSE *

Me and my boyfriend booked our tickets online and went there on December 25 we had a 4x4 so we went to the second entrance and when we got there it was closed (my mistake the tickets I bought were for the 26), we asked a guy who was working there if we can still go since we paid and he said yes, showed us the way and said that we had to know that there wouldnt be anyone to pick us up for the uphill though , so far it was fine by us. So we started our hike down (they say you have a light 25min walk to the waterfalls .. its false..the roads are dangerous!! Really steep, slippery and there is no shadow at all it is really humid and hot. If you dont have a really good cardio I DO NOT recommend this hike .

We got to the waterfalls through a fence that was unlocked which lead to the trails, it is really pretty I still recommand to visit the park just not with this company.

On the way back up I was really not feeling good it was hard I felt like fainting we stopped at their pick up area ,there were people waiting there and FINALLY we saw a car with the company logo coming to pick people up . We were suprised since it was suppose to be closed we smiled to the guy and right away he starts to lecture us in a rude way telling us that we do not belond there that this is private property and that what we are doing right now is really wrong ! I explain the situation to him telling him that we bought tickets for the wrong day and that the guy at the office told us it was okay to go since we paid . He then continues with his rude attitude and tell us that WE HAVE TO GET OUT NOW that he doesnt care what the guy told us that our ticket is for tomorrow and that we dont belong there and that they are about to lock the gates so we must hurry to leave or else we are stuck. I tell him that there is no way we get to the gate before them since they have a car and asked if I could pay them right away extra money to bring us up they rudely said no and left us there ... we got to the gate AND IT WAS LOCKED the gate is 7-8 feet tall and next to it is barbed wires . We are costumers who PAID and were willing to pay extra and they just locked us in and left us there yelling at us! We had to climb the gate in the tree branches to get out !! PLEASE DO NOT TRUST...

The roads to get to this are quite bumpy and full of potholes. We did not have to engage our four wheel drive, but I am glad we were in an SUV and not a sedan.

Once at the park it is very well set up with a nice covered patio, a place to get drinks, and wifi. We opted for the ride up and back which was quick and efficient and we were glad we did.

Once the truck drops you off at the lower pavilion there is still a hike to get to the falls. Do yourself a favor and GRAB A BAMBOO HIKING STICK. They offer these for free at the pavilion and we needed them to get down the trail and navigate the falls. The hike is beautiful with labeled fruit trees along the way and trails are well marked, but if you have very young kids or more frail individuals in your group you may want to reconsider this activity as the trail is steep at many points and there are lots of stairs.

The falls are breathtaking once you eventually make it to them, but I was very disappointed there was not more infrastructure once we got to the falls to make it easier to access the pools without crawling over large boulders or having to try to walk up against the current. The other side of the river (i assume the national park) had a nice platform to walk directly down to the lower pool. Perhaps the water was just really high or something, but it definitely was not easy to get down to the lower falls and I was only able to take my more athletic child down while my wife stayed with the other kid. To get out of the lower falls we had to let the current carry us down stream a bit until we could walk out which was not ideal. If we had not had the walking sticks to try to navigate hazards in the water I am not sure what I would have done.

Leaving the park there was intense rain which made driving the dirt roads more challenging. Plan to arrive early so you can hopefully dodge the afternoon rain.

Was it an adventure? Yes. Was it beautiful? Yes. Would I do it again with two eight year olds knowing what I know now? No. Hope my review helps others plan...