Dominical and Nauyaca Falls

Dominical is a surf town on the south Pacific with a heavy beach break and a laid-back strip behind it, and the reason most visitors go inland is Nauyaca. The Barú river drops in two stages there, an upper fall of around forty-five metres and a lower one of about twenty into a wide pool deep enough to swim across, set in forest with rock ledges around it. Getting there means either a walk of about four kilometres each way on a steep dirt road, a truck transfer, or the traditional option of riding down on horseback from a family farm, which has been running for decades and includes breakfast.

What you actually see

• The two falls - a forty-five metre upper drop and a wider lower one.
• The pool - deep and wide enough to swim across.
• The horseback ride - the long-running way down from the farm.
• Dominical beach - the heavy break and the town behind it.

When to go

December to April is drier and the road in better. The falls run all year and are fullest in the wet season, when the water is browner. Mornings avoid both the heat and the crowds. Book the horseback or truck option ahead in high season.

Honest expectations

The walk in is four kilometres of steep dirt each way in the heat and people underestimate the return climb. Dominical's beach break is heavy with strong rips and a poor safety record; it is not a swimming beach. Two separate operations run access to the falls from different sides, which confuses booking. The falls get crowded by mid-morning.

Nearby

Uvita and Marino Ballena are fifteen minutes south; Manuel Antonio is an hour north.