La Leona Waterfall Costa Rica
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
Where is it located?
La Leona Waterfall is located in the Guancaste province of Costa Rica, only 30 min away from the Guancaste Airport (LIR) and only 20 min before Rincon de la Vieja Volcano National Park.
Link to location on Google Maps: La Leona Waterfall Official – Catarata La Leona
About the tour
La Leona Waterfall is a 2km hike each way (1.5 miles each way), normally the whole tour takes 3 hours, but, it’s not 3 hours of just hiking, in fact the hike is not too long the thing is that you go across rivers multiple times, go through some incredible ponds, some rock formation and also a canyon before seeing La Leona Waterfall. If you do this tour plan to spend 3 hours to complete the full tour.
The tour is considered a moderate hike, not suited for guests with knee, ankle, walking, or mobility limitations. Remember that this tour is not an easy walk in the park, this is an adventure tour.
Is it worth visiting?
La Leona Waterfall Adventure Tour on Google Maps has a rating of 5 stars with over 200 reviews and it has been considered by many guests the highlight of their trip in Costa Rica. Don’t believe us? Read the reviews yourself. Click here to read the reviews
Is the parking safe?
The parking area is very safe. The only people allowed to park inside the property are the ones doing tours. The parking lot is a private parking and all of our staff is always there to make sure everything is good, plus the town where we do the tour is called Curubandé and almost 80% of its people makes a living off of tourism so everyone there takes great care of tourists.
La Leona Waterfall Hike
The meeting point to start the tour is in the small town of Curubandé, right in front of the local school. You have to arrive to the office first because that’s the only place where we have facilities: Bathrooms and Water only at the office, once you leave from there, there are no faciltiies and you go straight to the hike. From the office the start of the hike is 10min by car and the road is gravely, only recomended for bigger cars. If you have a smaller car don’t worry because we provide transportation from our office to the start of the hike (in the back of a 4 wheel drive vehicle which is quite adventurous )
The Trail
Once we arrive to the start of the hike we start heading towards río blanco (White river). This River comes from Rincon de la Vieja Volcano and is one of the few that creates the most waterfalls in the area.
Once we get to there we go across the river multiple times with the water up to our knees in order to reach La Leona Waterfall. The hike is 2km each way (1.5 miles each way) and it the tour normallt takes 3hrs total there and back
What else do we see?
Along the trail we will go through some caves, canyons and smaller waterfalls before getting to see the main La Leona Waterfall. Sometimes if you are lucky you can find wildlife such as: Monkeys, Birds, Ants…etc. However, this is never guaranteed, wildlife moves around a lot and sometimes we see and sometimes we don’t.
Jumping
Yes, along the way there is an optional jumping part. This is not mandatory in order to get to the main waterfall but, it is fun and a challenge for many people to jump into the pond. Almost before getting to see the main Leona Waterfall we can get off the trail for a little bit to get on top of a 4 meter rock (12 feet high) and jump into the pond. Remember this is 100% optional and it is not neccesary to do it in order to reach the main waterfall. (But it’s fun and you should do it if you can)
Incredible Rock Formations
Before seeing La Leona Waterfall we have to go through some amazing rock formations, where the sunlight hits directly into the water and it makes us see this beautiful turquoise blue colors in the water. For these parts if you have basic swimming skills such as paddling, floating or just basic swimming you don’t really need to wear a life jacket for the tour becasue these are very small ponds. Now if you can not swim at all then you must wear a life jacket because some parts you won’t touch the bottom.
The Canyon to La Leona Waterfall
After a 2km (1.5 miles) adventure traversing the river off the beaten path we find La Leona Waterfall. In order to get to see the waterfall we have to go through a canyon holding a rope to get inside the cave and that’s where the waterfall is. Is there another way around it to see the waterfall? The answer is no. You have to hold on to the rope and pull yourself inside the cave with the help of the guides in order to see the waterfall.
The Guides will help you
Yes I know this part looks challenging but trust me, it is easier than what it looks. Our guides are always here to help and to make the tour as easy and enjoyable as possible. Just enjoy
The Amazing Leona Waterfall
Once you go through the canyon with the rope you get to see La Leona Waterfall. Hidden inside a cave that’s where the waterfall is. There is a shallow area where you will be standing right in front of the waterfall and then if you want to you can swim in the waterfall. People usually stay from 5min to 15min in the waterfall because yes it gets a little chilly sometimes.
Summary
- Distance: 2km each way (1.5 miles each way)
- Duration: 3 to 4 hours
- Difficulty: Medium
- This tour IS NOT an easy walk in the park, This is an Adventure Tour.
What You Get
- Dry Bags: To take small belongings to the tour
- Facilities: Changing rooms and bathrooms
- Life jackets: If you need them they will be available
- Tour Guides
What to Bring?
- Closed toe shoes (no flip flops )
- (Keens/chacos are okay to wear)
- Shoes with a good grip
- Extra clothes to change
- Extra shoes to change
- Towels
Location:
Google Maps “La Leona Waterfall Official – Catarata La Leona”
Reviews
Our Google Reviews
Our Tripadvisor Reviews
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We did the self drive waterfall hike/swim with Victor as our guide. It was my favourite activity in Costa Rica. Victor was great, he really took the time to know... read more 
LindaMontreal
February 19, 2023
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