LA FORTUNA WATERFALL · COSTA RICA
La Fortuna Waterfall
La Fortuna Waterfall is a seventy-metre fall into a turquoise pool near La Fortuna, Costa Rica, reached by around five hundred steps down through rainforest — about fifteen minutes down and twenty-five to thirty back up. You can swim at the bottom, and the water is cold. It is one of the options on our La Fortuna overnight, from $800 per person for one night.
The photograph everyone has seen is taken from the bottom: a white column falling into water so turquoise it looks edited. That photograph is honest. What it leaves out is the staircase — around five hundred steps down, and the same five hundred back up, through rainforest, in the heat. This page is about both halves, because the second one is what people wish they had known.
How many steps are there to La Fortuna Waterfall?
It is roughly five hundred steps from the top to the river, and there is no other way down. No lift, no shuttle, no path around.
The good news is that it is a proper staircase, not a scramble: wide concrete treads, a solid handrail the whole way, and landings often enough to stop and breathe without blocking anyone. It is well built and well maintained.
The honest news is that going down is easy and coming up is not. Most people take fifteen minutes down and twenty-five or thirty back, and they stop on the way. In the wet months the steps are damp and you want shoes with grip.
If anyone in your group has bad knees, a heart condition, or simply does not fancy it, say so when you book. There is a viewing platform at the top with a real view of the fall, and nobody has to explain themselves on the day.
Seventy metres of falling water
The fall drops about seventy metres from a notch in the canyon wall into a pool the colour of a swimming pool, except that the colour is real and comes from the minerals and the depth.
It is loud. Standing at the bottom you feel the air moving, and there is permanent spray for about twenty metres around the base, so your camera and your phone will get wet whether you plan on it or not.
The canyon is cut into old lava, and the walls are covered in ferns, mosses and bromeliads that live entirely on the humidity the fall throws at them. It is a small, closed, very green world, and it stays cool even at midday.
Can you swim at La Fortuna Waterfall?
This is river water coming off the mountain, not a hot spring. It is properly cold, and the first thirty seconds are a decision. After that most people stay in.
Swim away from the base rather than towards it. The water under a fall of that size is turbulent and pushes down, and the safe, beautiful part of the pool is the wide turquoise section further out. Your guide will show you where.
Bring a towel and something dry to change into. You will be walking back up five hundred steps and doing it in a wet swimsuit is a specific kind of misery.
The view from the top is not a consolation prize
There is a platform at the top of the staircase looking straight across the canyon at the fall, framed by forest, with the mountains behind it. It is a genuinely good view — several of the photographs on this page were taken from there.
If half your group goes down and half stays up, that works. There are benches, shade and a café, and nobody is on a clock but you.
Available on the overnight
Stay a night or two in La Fortuna and build your own days around this and everything else — including the waterfall.
From $800 per person · one night
Frequently Asked Questions
How many steps are there really?
Around five hundred each way. People count differently because of the landings, but that is the honest order of magnitude. Fifteen minutes down, twenty-five to thirty back up at a normal pace with stops.
Can we skip the stairs?
Not to reach the bottom — there is no other route. But the viewing platform at the top looks straight at the fall and is a real view, not a token one. Tell us in advance and we will plan the morning so that whoever stays up is not left waiting alone.
Is the water cold?
Yes. It comes off the mountain and it is nothing like the hot springs. Cold enough that the first moments are unpleasant and then fine.
What should we bring?
Shoes with grip, a towel, dry clothes, water, and a waterproof bag or case for your phone. There is permanent spray near the base.
Is it crowded?
It is the most visited waterfall in this part of the country, so at midday, yes. Early morning is quieter and cooler, which is one more reason we start before dawn from the coast.
When do we have to cancel by?
Seventy-two hours before your tour begins, counted from the start time and not the day. Cancel before that and your deposit comes back in full.
Book direct with the operator
- We run these tours ourselves. No middleman, no reseller.
- Private to your group — minimum four guests for this experience, no strangers in your van.
- The price you see is the price you pay: taxes and door-to-door pickup included.
Both halves, honestly
Tell us when you are here, how many of you there are, and whether anyone would rather stay at the top. We will build the day around that instead of around a brochure.
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By the Guanadreams team, led by Miller Contreras — naturalist guide, born and raised in Guanacaste.