The sport of canyoneering you might associate with the Utah where during the summer months those looking for an adventure of a lifetime filled the beautiful canyons making their way down those canyons with a cord and some climbing gear. Well with ecotourism as big as it is in Costa Rica you can imagine it did not take long before the idea of canyoneering in the beautiful tropical canyons of Costa Rica became one of the more popular adventures during your Costa Rica family adventure tour. There is also the more simple waterfall rappel which is often a part of canyoneering but sometimes there are tours where you can just do one rappel and then be on your way to the hotel and not have to worry about making your way down a canyon. (Difference Between Waterfall Rappeling and Canyoneering - Click Here) As a company we operate a few different canyoneering adventures some of which we do ourselves and others we outsource to use different canyons. If you attend our spanish school in Sitio de Mata chances are we will take you on a canyoneering adventure if you are up for it.
There are waterfalls all over Costa Rica and the list is almost endless where you can enjoy the sport of canyoneering or just a simple waterfall rappel. Take a look at some of the spots we enjoy taking our clients when they are looking for a little adrenaline rush when visiting Costa Rica.
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| Nauyaca Falls |
Nauyaca Falls (Dominical)
There are many places of Costa Rica worth seeing but it is tough to compete with Nauyaca when it comes to rappeling waterfalls. This is Costa Rica's most beautiful waterfall in our opinion. We consider it the most beautiful to look at, the most beautiful to swim in, and the most beautiful to rappel. Well all of this sounds really beautiful but the access to this waterfall is far from beautiful. It is a bumpy road in, by horseback taking you to the bottom area which does not help during a rappelling adventure because you want to be at the top. To get to the top you can drive in to a certain area but then you have to hike for around 4 blocks. This is not a bad hike and it is downhill making it up hill in the afternoon after your adrenaline has been drained from walking off the edge of this 160ft waterfall. The waterfall is a double-decker that measures 300ft in total but we rappel the top part and then hike down to the bottom to enjoy the perfect swim pool where you can do everything from climb rocks to jump off a 20ft ledge.
This waterfall is part of the adventure we do of sleeping behind a waterfall. This is a really fun overnight with kids. If you are in the area of Dominical we highly suggest making this part of your Costa Rica family vacation as this without question will be an adventure of a lifetime.
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Lost Canyon (San Carlos)
Probably the most popular canyon in all of Costa Rica, the Lost Canyon is situated just outside of the town of La Fortuna and makes for an easy half day tour. It is also operated by one of the larger local outfitters in La Fortuna allowing them to fill the canyon with guides and really move the people on through. This is a great tour from start to finish and it is operated by Desafio. Here you will visit five different waterfalls and make your way down two of which are around 150ft. Our clients often tell us that their favorite moment was not the rappels but everything in between from jumping off small rocks to just using their hands and knees to make their way down. This is a long way down and a long way up. The hike is not too bad because at the start they drive you up in a 4x4 allowing those that don't want to hike 500 steps to just hike around half.
Our only comment on this canyon is that you will see a good number of other tourists. If you are in the Arenal and La Fortuna area that probably is not a problem as it is one of Costa Rica's most touristy areas. This is also a quick canyoneering adventure allowing you to make up a lot of ground, very safely, in only about three hours because of the solid infrastructure and guide personel they have equipped the canyon with.
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| Enjoying the Canyon |
This canyon can only be run in the dry season and it turns out has to be run with an inner-tube. You need the inner-tube because at the bottom of each rappel there is a large pool and that is when the inner-tube comes in handy. This is without question our favorite canyon. As a company, having seen much of the country, this canyon is right up there as one of the most beautiful spots in all of Costa Rica including our favorite the Pacuare River. If we had to pick an adventure we would like to operate on a daily basis it would probably be the Pacuare River rafting tour of the Diamante Canyoneering adventure.
This is not the canyoneering adventure for every Costa Rica family vacation as you want to make sure the kids are at least 13.
This canyon is located between San Isidro and Dominical and is not an easy access canyon as you have to go rock hopping in a river for a about half hour. Again this is only runnable during the dry season and you get the chance to rappel four waterfalls and swim through endless amount of pools with walls that go hundreds of feet straight up. There is no question when being in this canyon that the only way out is down the canyon and not up it. If you visit this canyon you will not want to leave, it is really a magical place.
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Exploranatura Canyon (Turrialba)
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| Canyoneering |
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| Toro Amarillo |
This is a waterfall that is very easy access. You simply arrive to the little restaurant and then walk around 1 block and you are at the top of one of the tallest waterfalls in Costa rica. This is quite the site. It is quite the rappel also and the only rough part is walking back up. If you want amazing pictures and simply be able to tell your friends that you rappeled a 300ft waterfall then this is the waterfall for you. It is located about 2 hours from the San Jose area between the Central Valley and the San Carlos area on the back slopes of the Poas Volcano. The scenery is beautiful. The operation here has been taken over by a foreign owner who has put in quite the infrastructure for rappeling. It is a very safe rappel and not much else in the area except for this waterfall. Although there is a new little lodge called El Silencio which is one of the nicest ecolodges in all of Costa Rica.
When doing a rappel this high you want to make sure your rope is not too thick as it will be more of a pain getting down because of the weight of the rope causing you to break. Then it will be a pain carrying it back up the 900 steps to the parking lot. Yes, that is right it, is 900 steps and I have seen many names carved on trees telling their wives they love them. Just be prepared the higher the waterfall you rappel the harder the hike is to get out of the remote area you rappeled down into.
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| Los Chorros |
This is a beautiful waterfall that is visited by many more locals than it is foreigners. For years this waterfall has been used as a close rappel since it is just 30 minute from San Jose and only five minutes from the town of Grecia. We can only hope with the population growth and the nearby developement that this waterfall does not become victim to contamination.
The rappel here is one of the best and clients love it because they get wet, it is high, and their feet are on the wall. Take a look and enjoy the video of a rappel for Los Chorros.
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| Rappel in the Cave |
This is a great rappel and although it is short with just around 100ft the setting is like none other. This is part of the adventure of sleeping behind a waterfall which we have labeled as the "Sleep Behind a Waterfall Ecolodge". After you make the very intense two hour hike into the cavern it is time to get geared up and take on the rappel. At the top of the waterfall you have an endless view of the primary forest and canyon below. This is the same canyon that is called the Diamante Canyon. From the waterfall you will be rappelling just a few more drops below is the Diamante Waterfall which is one of Costa Rica tallest waterfalls at 600ft (this is only rappeled by our guides; sorry I know you would love to).
At the top of this waterfall you really can not see where you are going because it gives a feeling of an undercut which allows you to do a free-hanging rappel after about 20 ft on the wall. It is really a great rappel and unique in it's own scense. For a Costa Rica family adventure this should be considered if your kids don't mind hiking. The waterfall is extremely easy access as you are rappelling into the area where you will be sleeping. Now the access from the start of the day is pretty intense with two hours of hiking but once you get to the cavern you can walk to the top of the 600ft Diamante, rappel, eat, and sleep without having to take more than a 5 minute hike to any of those places. This is one of Costa Rica's most beautiful spots that has been discovered until now.
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