Getty Images

Viento Fresco

Top choice

LoginSave

If you're travelling between Monteverde and Arenal, there's no good excuse for skipping this stop. Viento Fresco is a series of five cascades, including the spectacular Arco Iris (Rainbow Falls), which drops 75m into a refreshing shallow pool that’s perfect for swimming. There are no crowds or commercialism to mar the natural beauty of this place. You’ll probably have the falls to yourself, especially if you go early in the day.

Add on a horseback riding tour or grab lunch at the restaurant to support this family-run operation. It’s located 11km south of Tilarán on the road to Santa Elena (a US$15 cab ride from Tilarán).

The 1.3km of trails are maintained, but the stone steps can be slippery, especially after a rainfall, and only the reasonably fit can hike to the bottom and back.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

    Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal

    13.15 MILES

    From 1968 until 2010, Volcán Arenal was an ever-active and awe-striking natural wonder, producing menacing ash columns, massive explosions and streams of…

  • Venado Caves

    Venado Caves

    15.13 MILES

    Two kilometers northeast of Venado (Spanish for ‘deer’) along a good dirt road, these caves are an adventurous excursion into an eight-chamber limestone…

  • Reserva Santa Elena

    Reserva Santa Elena

    10.2 MILES

    The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…

  • Black-bellied whistling ducks at Palo Verde National Park.

    Parque Nacional Palo Verde

    27.37 MILES

    At the head of the Golfo de Nicoya, the 198 sq km Parque Nacional Palo Verde is a wetland sanctuary in Costa Rica’s driest province. The park’s shallow,…

  • Proyecto Asis

    Proyecto Asis

    26.01 MILES

    It’s an animal rescue center. It’s a volunteer project. It’s Spanish classes. This community-based organization is doing a lot of good, and you can…

  • Las Pumas

    Las Pumas

    13.84 MILES

    This wild-animal shelter was started in the 1960s by the late Lilly Hagnauer, a Swiss environmentalist. It’s one of the largest shelters of its kind in…

  • Cerro Pelado

    Cerro Pelado

    6.13 MILES

    A fabulous mountain for hiking if you've got your own wheels and a keen sense of adventure. It's best to scale this at sunrise or sunset, and to avoid it…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Cerro Pelado

6.13 MILES

A fabulous mountain for hiking if you've got your own wheels and a keen sense of adventure. It's best to scale this at sunrise or sunset, and to avoid it…

2. Ecomuseo de las Minas de Abangares

9.23 MILES

It’s not often you see the terms ‘eco’ and ‘mining’ so close together. Set on 38 hectares, this little museum has photographs and models depicting the old…

3. Iglesia

9.73 MILES

A local landmark in the center of Santa Elena. The adjacent roasted-chicken shack apparently has no religious affiliation.

4. Jardín de Orquídeas

9.79 MILES

This sweet-smelling garden in Santa Elena has shady trails winding past more than 500 types of orchids. On your guided tour, you’ll see such rarities as…

5. El Arbol Hueco

9.8 MILES

There's no sign, no website, and last we checked, nobody was collecting any money for this delightful roadside attraction. It's simply a hollowed-out fig…

6. Ranario

9.81 MILES

Returning to its former glory as the Ranario, or Frog Pond (it's changed names a few times), this place also features an insect house. The frogs are still…

7. Herpetarium Adventure

9.86 MILES

For those who prefer their reptiles under glass (or at least behind it), a guide will show you around and introduce you to more than 50 species of…

8. Reserva Santa Elena

10.2 MILES

The exquisitely misty 310-hectare Reserva Santa Elena offers a completely different cloud forest experience from Monteverde. Cutting through the veiled…