Catarata Manantial de Agua Viva

Top choice in Central Pacific Coast


This 200m-high waterfall is claimed to be the highest in the country. From the entrance, it’s a steep 3km (45-minute) hike down into the valley (an hour back up); at the bottom, the river continues through a series of natural swimming holes. The falls are most dramatic during the rainy season, though the serene rainforest setting is beautiful any time of year. A 5km dirt road past Hotel Villa Lapas leads to the primary entrance to the falls.

Keep an eye out for monkeys in the canopy above, plus brightly colored poison-dart frogs as well as the occasional pair of scarlet macaws.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Central Pacific Coast attractions

1. Pura Vida Gardens & Waterfalls

0.58 MILES

Just before the village of Bijagual, this private botanical garden offers great vistas of Manantial de Agua Viva cascading down the side of a cliff, and…

2. Parque Nacional Carara

2.09 MILES

Carara is the famed home of one of Costa Rica’s most charismatic bird species, the scarlet macaw. While catching a glimpse of this tropical wonder is a…

3. Crocodile Bridge

3.31 MILES

If you’re driving from Puntarenas or San José, pull over by the Río Tárcoles bridge, also known as Crocodile Bridge running over the Tárcoles River where…

4. Jacó Walk

10 MILES

This pleasant outdoor shopping square is where many of the town's good restaurants are located. It's adorned with multicolored bricks, potted plants and…

5. Royal Butterflies

11.95 MILES

This local butterfly farm run by American expat Dan is set on 1.2 hectares with 70 kinds of fruit tree and 15 species of butterfly, including the enormous…

6. Playa Doña Ana

17.11 MILES

The pair of beaches known as Playa Doña Ana are relatively undeveloped and have an isolated and unhurried feel. They are popular among Ticos on day trips…

7. Playa San Isidro

18.21 MILES

About 8km south of Puntarenas is Playa San Isidro, the first ‘real’ beach on the central Pacific coast. It's quite often empty, and preferred by…

8. Atenas Railway Museum

21.64 MILES

Trains first pulled in at this atmospheric, now-abandoned station more than a century ago and continued until the 1990s, when the remaining freight…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "costa-rica/tarcoles-around/attractions/catarata-manantial-de-agua-viva/a/poi-sig/1197037/1313943",
      "destination": "Central-Pacific-Coast",
      "continent": "Central-America",
      "country": "Costa-Rica",
      "region": "Central-Pacific-Coast",
      "position": "superzone"
    }