Jaco, Costa Rica — Waterfall Tours (Part Four)

Costa Rica Waterfall Tours

Part of Costa Rica’s allure is this idea of trekking through the jungle to find an exotic waterfall. Our group members were enamored with this thought, so I signed our group up for a guided tour (Costa Rica Waterfall Tours) through TripAdvisor. 

Our two English speaking guides arrived on time and picked us up at an agreed upon location in town. We drove in a large tourist van approximately 30 minutes south of Jaco until we veered off onto a dirt road into the jungle. From there, we were dropped off in a small village where we ate a lunch made by a local resident which consisted of fried smashed plantains, jerk rice, shredded chicken, and salad.

After lunch, we were loaded into a 4×4 truck with bench seats in the back and two of our group members were allowed to sit on the roof of the cab!

Our guides drove us approximately 20 minutes up a steep mountain grade to a trailhead in the middle of the jungle. 

We were led single file down a dirt trail to a lazy river flowing through the dense jungle canopy. Along the way, our guides introduced us to leaf cutter ants, soldier ants that could hold twigs with their oversized pincer jaws, plants that when touched folded within themselves as if they were going to sleep, toucans and macaws glided overhead, and we ate termites that tasted like peanut butter. In addition to trying termites, we also were introduced to heart of palm, the Bengay tree, and a plant aptly named angel wings (it looked like angel wings) but tasted like green apples. 

Once at the river, we traveled upstream and visited several waterfalls. At every waterfall, we were able to climb the rocks and jump into the deep pools of water. The last waterfall was the highlight of the trip. There were two jump off points. The first was off a short bridge approximately 12 feet above the pool of water and adjacent to the waterfall. The second was a short climb up the mountain to a ledge approximately 30 feet above the pool of water. Both jumps were challenging, but well worth the trip. The trip lasted about four hours, and we all felt like we had been given an unforgettable experience.