La Leona Waterfall - Catarata La Leona — Attraction in Curubandé

We had a great time! We got to have a private tour since no one else booked the tour for our timeslot. And I before we left, they provided us with dry bags to store our water bottles and phones in. We carried our cell phones in water, proof pouches just to be on the safe side. I would highly recommend that you do the same if you consider the tour.

For most of the hike, you’re gonna be in either knee deep water or walking through the banks of the river but be sure to wear proper shoes. We wore water shoes, but I would even consider tennis shoes for better traction and control since you’ll be walking over rocks with sometimes slippery edges.

The water is clear and refreshing. You start breaking a sweat probably more from the humidity than the trek itself but you should have an at least adequate physical activity level to complete the trail in a timely manner.

Once you get to the mouth of the entrance of the waterfall, you’ll notice the currents accelerating. It’s important to always proceed with caution as there are large rocks and sharp edges in some areas you can get hurt on. The sheer power of the waterfall is very strong, and it shows was mother nature is capable of. Once you enter the small canyon that leads into the waterfall, the experience is jaw dropping.

David was excellent at providing us and knowledgeable experience about the flor and fauna of the area. He guided us the whole path and allowed us to take water breaks as needed. We never felt rushed and he always made sure we were safe.

Our hike was very efficient and I appreciate that. Because our group was so small, just me and my husband and our tour guide, we made it back in two hours from start to finish. It freed up time to get to our next destination in time. But keep in mind that we came during the off-season where there’s not a lot of tourists. The same tour can take up to 3 to 4 hours if there are a lot more people on the trails not only from your own tour group, but other tour groups, exploring the same area.

I definitely recommend this tour if you have a few hours to...

Responsive, flexible, knowledgeable, friendly and safe. Just to hammer home that last point: we saw other tour groups hiking in poorly dressed for the hike with no life vests, no dry bags (sacks provided by our guides to keep any items we had with us 100% dry so we could bring a camera/phone, water, even a snack and not worry). Our guides provided all of the above for us.

Though it is not an intense hike if you're an avid hiker, it does have multiple technical parts. We saw a multiple tour groups, often families, hiking out as we hiked in and they had no life vests, some scrapes, a badly twisted ankle, etc. These groups had children and older relatives and non-athletic family members that I could not imagine completing the hike easily without better shoes and a life vest.

Though it is not necessary to have a life vest for the swimming portions, it both set us at ease and more importantly served as padding! You're very close to the rocks and rock walls and the current can be strong at a few points. That plus some of the river dives our great guide Mabelline showed us on the hike back were pure comfort because we were prepared with quality gear and info beforehand, something clearly not all the tours were providing. She also pointed out lots of super interesting details about the volcanic history of the area and the flora as we hiked.

La Leona Waterfall is stunning. Do the 11am tour!!! It got us to the waterfall at noon, right when the sunlight was shooting through the valley. Incredibly cinematic and highly...

There are many tour companies that offer this hike, but I'm glad we chose this one, primarily for their eye for safety. I don't know that I would have been comfortable doing half the things we did without a life vest.

We booked in advance online, and the instructions were very clear about bringing water, a towel, a change of clothes, sunscreen, and bug spray, along with a dry bag. We followed the instructions to a T, and then were very confused when we were told we couldn't take any of that with us. Once they explained that too many people lose personal items, I realized that everything we were supposed to bring was for before and after the hike. Bug spray and sunscreen before; towels and a chance of clothes after. I think there was a bit of "lost in translation" at work.

Our guides were fun and knowledgeable about the local flora and we had a good time trying the edible plants.

This is a popular tourist destination, and it was very busy, but each tour managed to keep separate from each other. We'd run into other groups on occasion, and what struck me as exceptional was how well all of the tour companies worked together. We had our two assigned guides, but were assisted by guides from other companies when needed, and watched our guides do the same for others (primarily at the water crossings).

I would definitely recommend old sneakers for this hike, not sandals. Your shoes will never be the same after being water logged, so take a pair that you're...