Llanos de Cortes Waterfall

Llanos de Cortes is broader than it is tall, a curtain around fifteen metres high and considerably wider spreading over a rock lip into a pool with an actual sand beach at one end, which is unusual for a waterfall and is why it is the one people stop at on the drive through Guanacaste. Water comes over in a sheet in the wet season and separates into strands as the dry season advances. The pool is swimmable and the beach used for sitting. Access is down a steep set of steps from a car park, managed by the local community with an entry charge that funds a school. Facilities include changing rooms and a snack bar.

What you actually see

• The wide curtain - the sheet of water over the full width of the lip.
• The sand beach - the strand at the edge of the plunge pool.
• The swimming pool - the basin below the fall.
• The steps down - the descent from the car park.

When to go

May to December in the wet season for the fullest curtain; by March and April the flow reduces to strands. Mornings are quieter before tour groups arrive. Weekends bring local visitors.

Honest expectations

Flow drops considerably late in the dry season. The steps down are steep and the climb back hard in heat. It gets crowded with tour groups in the middle of the day. Rocks in the pool are slippery.

Nearby

Bagaces lies east; Rincon de la Vieja is north.