Cataratas Viento Fresco — Attraction in Quebrada Grande

Visiting these falls was a highlight of our first trip to Costa Rica. Read the whole thing because I have some tips and warnings. We happened to see the sign and gave it a try. I was skeptical about the money (around $15 per person) but it was definitely worth it. You first drive in to the parking lot on a couple miles of very narrow road. I would only try this with a 4 wheel drive. You get to the parking lot and then hike down to a series of waterfalls. The trail is often steep, narrow, and sometimes slick. Not for the faint of heart or the out of shape. There is a shack to use as a dressing room about 10 minutes down the trail. It's filthy and decrepit (perhaps some of the entrance money could be allocated for a nicer one?). If I had a do-over, I would dress in my vehicle. If it's not raining, it will be humid and probably hot (we were there in August 2021). We decided to hike all the way down first and then enjoy the falls on the way up. This was the way to go because we got to rest and cool off at each waterfall (remember, it's a steep trail). All in all, it's amazing. The views and greenery are stunning. The falls are refreshing and beautiful. By chance, when we returned to the parking lot, there were spider monkeys in the trees. This was the only time we saw spider monkeys on the whole...

As others have noted, the road to the second parking area is in really bad shape. Luckily, we did not have to choose whether to drive there. The man at the gatehouse recommended we park there at the first parking area even though we had a full size SUV. I am glad we did – the 1 KM hike over the hill on the gravel road was one of the highlights of the trip. From the top of the hill you can see for miles in every direction of green hills with not a house in sight. It was very pretty. Once we got to the second parking area, we hiked the trails to view the 4 waterfalls. The first two are OK, the third (where we swam) was very impressive with its height and power, the 4th is very large but hard to view from the trail end. You can see it easier from higher up. The trails were a little rough – they could use some maintenance. But we made it just fine, and really enjoyed this stop. The swimming at the third falls was the highlight. We went on a weekday afternoon and we were the only ones there. The man and his dog at the gatehouse watched our car which was nice. This is a nice off the beaten track activity and a good stop between La Fortuna and Monteverde. BTW – I saw a few others referenced mosquitos in their reviews but we did not encounter any on the...

These waterfalls are simply indescribable.

As soon as you have registered and paid for yourself at the top of the restaurant, you drive about one kilometer on a rather single-lane road with very few options to avoid another vehicle. By now you know that a SUV was the right choice. Halfway there are three parking spaces. These are still far from the path to the waterfall. At the end there are 10 parking spaces available. The road is reinforced with concrete at the slightly more precarious places. Practically in the rainy season.

The trail to the waterfalls is very well secured. However, it is already quite steep down, because you start on top of the mountain. So you should be very good on foot and have good footwear. At two of the waterfalls there is a changing room and picnic areas. The basin is suitable for bathing.

Overall, the complex is laid out with love. There are even two taps for drinking water. If you have arrived after more than 500m at the last waterfall (Sledge), you should consider that you have to climb 300 meters up again. In the rain, all this is certainly...