Monte Sky — Attraction in Orosi

One thing is true: It's not for the weak legged. The 650 mts uphill hike to the summit is rocky, slippery, narrow, muddy, no safety rails, no safety ropes. Just you, your hiking shoes and praying for a really good grip. It's specially hard when carrying bags to the top. One leaves the car at the foothill and then you get the news from a guy charging 2 thousand colones parking fee that there's a 650 mt. climb to the top. Once up there, you have to pay ¢3500 pp entrance fee. There are a few picnic tables and benches to rest, there's like a guest house where the restrooms are. Take bottled water. The water there has sediment residue in it. The guide in charge shares a little welcome greeting to let you know about the different trails available and the waterfalls at the end of each trail. Since it was foggy, rainy and muddy in the forest, we decided to turn around and not reach the waterfalls. Other people embarked on different trails and apparently reached their destination. Not us. We played it too safe probably, but a twisted ankle or bent knee is not what you want on your downhill journey. I love hiking and have done many difficult trails in the past. This one was exhausting due to its uphill inclination. Tough workout for middle aged people like us. Other visitors were quite young and had no bags with them so their experience was much different. Since the place is in the Orosi mountains, vegetation was lush. We saw a few birds. Mountain air is wonderful there. On clear days one can see up to four Central Valley volcanoes from there. No wonder, one is at 1600 meters above sea level. The place is pet friendly. We took our Dachshund, but it came back with ticks. One takes a right from the main road to drive 3.5km on a gravel road to get to where one parks the car. We drove at 10km per hour not to damage the car's suspension system. The same goes for the way back out to the main road. I don't think I will be going back, but will surely recommend it to...

Our family visited this as an unplanned trip whilst staying near Orosi for a few days and we were so glad we did. The 2-3kms off-road drive to the parking area was the easiest we'd done in our little 4x4-ish Ssangyong hire car and the 15-20 mins walk up to the house (like a very old alpine refuge) was really nice too - take it easy and enjoy reading the thoughtful signs along the way (en español). And then from above he heard the welcoming shouts from Pedro, a lovely guy (little English spoken), who seems proud of and loves his hilly forest location. We walked on the rough and occasionally muddy trails to the 3 lovely waterfalls, and saw a morpho blue butterfly and bird of prey (hawk).After enjoying glorious views from the house we met the delightful Billy who we spoke to with mixed Spanish/English but were it not for time we could have chatted for ages. To sum up: Monte Sky is no manicured trails, touristy destination: its just nature and nice people...

This was an amazing hike! For me it was really difficult but I am chronically ill. My husband said it was moderately difficult for him with a few spots more challenging than the rest. My hiking sticks and folding seat came in very handy! Even a fully able-bodied person would need to have shoes that have good traction in mud and on wet rocks. I didn't make it all the way up, but even the first viewpoint was gorgeous and I had a great view of the cascade. The cost is 3000 colones per person and 5000 a piece for foreigners I think. The man who owns the property doesn't take card payments. He's incredibly kind though, and patiently gave us directions we could follow with our limited Spanish. Stay hydrated - no passing out on the mountain, please...