This post shares everything you need to know about visiting Montezuma Waterfalls. A gorgeous three-tiered waterfall, that is one of the only FREE waterfalls in Costa Rica!
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About Montezuma Waterfalls
The Montezuma Waterfalls are a set of three waterfalls and pools in the town of Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula.
If you’ve visited other waterfalls around Costa Rica, like the magical Blue Falls, our favourite Catarata Vuelta del Cañon or the popular Nauyaca Waterfalls, Montezuma Waterfalls may feel a little disappointing in comparison.
Don’t be expecting a lush, tropical jungle wonderland kind of scene. The Montezuma Waterfalls are more akin to the Nicoya Peninsula’s dry forest. But if you’re already in Montezuma or neighbouring Santa Teresa, these waterfalls are absolutely worth a visit!
They can be completely free (depending on the entrance and trail you use), and it’s a wonderful way to cool off from the heat.
The three waterfalls
There are three different waterfalls – the lower, middle and upper falls.
The lower falls are the largest and most popular of the three. Dropping 27 metres (88 feet) down a jagged rocky wall, the water flows into a large pool below which is the perfect place for a swim. There are a few small rocks on the left-hand side of the pool where you can jump into the pool (check the water levels first!).
The upper falls at the very top are the next falls you will encounter. These falls are quite small, at just 4 metres (13 feet), but the pool below can be a nice calm spot for a swim, especially during the wet season when there’s lots of water.
In my opinion, the middle falls are the best of the three! They can only be reached by clambering down some rocks from the upper falls, there is no direct path. Dropping 12 metres (40 feet) it’s a pretty decent-sized waterfall, but the best part is the large pool to swim in. One of nature’s best infinity pools, you can swim to the edge and look down to the lower waterfall (carefully!).
Montezuma Waterfalls quick facts
- 📍 Location: Google Maps
- ⏰ Opening hours: 24 hours a day via the free access point
- 💰 Entrance fee: depends on the entrance, 0 – 3,000 Colones
- 🥾 Hike length: ~ 1 km / 0.6 mi to the lower falls
- 🪫 Difficulty: Moderate
- 👙 Swimming: Yes
How to visit the Montezuma Waterfalls
As with many natural attractions in Costa Rica, visiting Montezuma Waterfalls is unnecessarily complicated.
There are multiple different entry points and trails, some with fees, some free, some on well-made paths, some with sketchy rock climbing and ropes…
Before we visited I was confused about how it all worked, so I’m going to explain each of the options in detail below.
There are essentially three different entrances to the Montezuma Waterfalls:
- Via the Riverbed Trail
- 1a. Riverbed + free trail
- 1b. Riverbed + paid trail
- Via the Butterfly Brewing Co. Trail
- Via the SunTrails entrance
1. Reaching Montezuma Waterfalls via the Riverbed Trail
The Riverbed Trail is the most common way to reach the Montezuma Waterfalls. The trailhead starts just outside the centre of town, located here.
There is no fee to access the waterfall via this trail. Totally free!
If you’re staying in Montezuma, you can easily walk to the trailhead. If you’re coming from elsewhere, there is a parking lot but you will need to pay.
At the time of writing, parking was 2,000 Colones (~$4 USD). If you’re visiting early in the day you can probably find a free car park on the street or in town, and walk to the trailhead if you want this to be a completely free experience!
The trail isn’t necessarily marked, but it’s pretty difficult to get lost. Basically, you’re just following the river until you reach the waterfall.
You need to cross the river near the start of the trail – where the green section ends and the yellow section begins on the map.
The trail follows the bank closely, rising and falling over tree roots and large rocks. At times it was actually easier to just rock hop across flat rocks in the river, rather than following the trail on the bank, but assess the situation when you are there.
We visited in the dry season, so it was easy walking on the rocks, and you can pretty much walk through the river most of the way. With plenty of large, flat rocks protruding from the water.
In the wet season or after heavy rains, the trail is probably the better option as the river will be fuller, and rocks concealed by water or very slippery.
After about 20 minutes, less than 1 km / 0.6 mi, you’ll reach the lower waterfall!
1a. Riverbed Trail + Free Trail
The lower falls are certainly the most popular of the three Montezuma Waterfalls. But don’t forget there are two other gorgeous upper falls ready to explore, if you’re up for the challenge!
It’s at this point of the Riverbed Trail that you have two different options. The first is the completely free (aka the sketchy) option.
If you’re looking at the lower waterfall, you want to head to the right. You’ll see a defined, albeit wild, trail leading up a steep hill into the forest.
This is the sketchy trail that many people urge you to avoid. It’s not that bad if you’re nimble and up for a climb.
As you can see on the trail map above, there are two red or ‘high difficulty’ sections of this trail, at the start and the end.
The trail starts with a steep incline, where you’ll need to haul yourself up with some ropes. It’s not too lengthy, but you’ll need free hands.
From here, the trail flattens out and it is actually a nice stroll through the forest. We saw an agouti and some blue morpho butterflies!
Towards the end, you reach another red section and this is probably the hardest part. You need to lower yourself down a steep decline, to the side of the upper waterfall. There are ropes, just take it slow and steady. Again, have your hands free, and if you need to, just sit down on your bum!
You will arrive at the right side of the upper waterfall. From here, you can clamber down the rocks (on the same side) to reach the middle waterfall.
We didn’t jump from the very top (too scary!) although some people do, but we found a safe place to jump about halfway down the rocks between the upper and middle falls. I would strongly recommend checking the water levels before someone jumps, it can get quite low in the dry season.
To get back, do the same thing in reverse.
We didn’t find the trail too challenging. Admittedly, we’re young and nimble with plenty of hiking experience, and it wasn’t wet and slippery when we went. If you’ve got mobility issues, have little kids with you or it’s really muddy and raining, you probably want to go for the alternative option.
1b. Riverbed Trail + Paid Trail
So you’re at the lower waterfall, and you want to see the two upper Montezuma Waterfalls but you’re not up for a sketchy climb – that’s okay!
There is a second option here.
SunTrails is a company that runs a ziplining canopy tour in the area, and their land borders the waterfall. They have built a set of stairs on their property, that connects the lower waterfall to the two upper waterfalls in a safer way.
To reach the stairs, you need to backtrack along the river for a short distance, and you will see the stairs on the other side of the river. There are over 200 stairs up, you’ll definitely be huffing and puffing but it’s nothing too technical.
Because this trail is built by SunTrails on their property, you need to pay a fee. At the time of our visit, it was 2,000 Colones (~$4 USD) per person.
You’ll walk the majority of the way up the stairs before you reach a small little hut, where a SunTrails employee will be waiting to take your payment.
They aren’t there all the time (their opening hours are 8:30 am – 4:30 pm) so you may get lucky and not have to pay if there’s no one at the hut.
As far as I know, you can use the stairs at any time, even if SunTrails is closed. But you should be expecting a 2,000 Colon fee, and they will charge you the same amount even if you only use the trail one way.
The stairs will lead you down to the upper waterfall on the left side of the pool. If you want to reach the middle waterfall, you’ll need to rock hop or swim across the upper pool to the other side, and then clamber down the rocks on the right side.
To get back, take the stairs back down again to the lower fall and return via the riverbed trail to the entrance.
Alternatively, you can head back towards the lower waterfall but divert early onto another trail at the payment hut, which will lead you out near Butterfly Brewing Co. for a cold beer or meal – more on this below.
2. Butterfly Brewing Co. Paid Trail
If you’re staying in the hills above Montezuma, or you’ve got a car, there is another trail option.
Behind the Butterfly Brewing Co., there is a trail that leads you directly to the upper falls. You can see the trail on Maps.Me. Pop your head into the brewery if you’re lost, but I’m certain it will be signed. The trail comes out at the SunTrails payment hut halfway up the stairs.
We didn’t take this option so can’t speak exactly on the condition or length of the trail. But we met another couple at the little hut, who had parked at the brewery and walked in that way.
You will be asked to pay the same fee to SunTrails, 2,000 Colones.
As far as I’m aware, you can access this trail at any time of the day, the same scenario as the stairs coming up from the lower waterfall. I believe you can still use the trail and stairs even if there’s no staff there.
To get to the upper and middle falls, follow the same instructions as above. If you want to visit the lower waterfall, you’ll have to walk all the way down the stairs.
If you’ve driven, you’ll need to hike back up the stairs and out the same way to your car.
But if you walked in, you could follow the riverbank trail back to the main entrance. You’re then close to town for a well-deserved meal or drink!
You might choose to separate the upper and lower falls into two separate activities. Follow this trail to the upper falls, and take the riverbed trail to the lower falls on a separate occasion.
3. SunTrails Park
The third option for visiting the Montezuma Waterfalls is in a completely different location.
Remember the SunTrails zipline company that built the stairs? In addition to the stairs, and their zipline tour, they have built a trail to reach the Montezuma Waterfalls from their entrance.
The SunTrails entrance is located here, quite a distance from the riverbed trail entrance. This trail will lead you to the upper falls from the north, so you’re traversing a completely different area.
You’ll need your own vehicle to get here. Their fee to access their property and use the trails is 3,000 Colones (~$5 USD) per person. You can only enter when SunTrails is open, which is 7 days per week from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.
It takes around 20 minutes to reach the upper falls from the entry. The trail passes over a couple of really cool hanging bridges and through the forest. You’ve got more chance of seeing wildlife on this walk, and there are howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys and tons of birds on the property. It’s a natural jungle trail, with tree roots, rocks and ups and downs, but it’s not too technical.
The trail leads to the upper falls, connecting with the staircase coming up. You’ll arrive on the left side of the upper pool. Follow my instructions above to cross the upper pool and climb down to the middle pool.
If you want to visit the lower waterfall, you’ll need to take the staircase down and back up again.
As with the Butterfly Brewing Co. trail, you might like to divide the upper and lower falls into two separate activities. Visit the upper falls via SunTrails, and take the riverbed trail to the lower falls on a different day.
Cost to visit Montezuma Waterfalls
The cost to visit the Montezuma Waterfalls differs depending on the trail option you go for. Here’s what you can expect, with all costs accurate at the time of writing:
- 💰 Riverbed Trail costs
- Parking 2,000 Colones (~$4 USD) – optional
- SunTrails staircase 2,000 Colones (~$4 USD) – optional
- 💰 Butterfly Brewing Co. Trail costs
- SunTrails staircase 2,000 Colones (~$4 USD)
- 💰 SunTrails costs
- Entrance fee 3,000 Colones (~$5 USD)
When to visit Montezuma Waterfalls
There are two elements to this – the time of year and the time of day.
The Montezuma Waterfalls can be visited at all times throughout the year. It never dries up completely.
Even in the dry season, there is usually still at least a small trickle of a waterfall and water in the pool. We visited in May, at the very end of the dry season and it wasn’t really flowing, but the water still felt clean enough to swim in.
The waterfall will of course be flowing a lot more in the wet season. But if there has been a lot of heavy rain, the falls can become dangerous to swim in, and the hike up the river is a lot more complicated. The water can also turn a brown colour after storms.
In terms of the time of day to visit, the Montezuma Waterfalls are a pretty popular attraction with both tourists and locals. To avoid the crowds, I would recommend going as early as possible and avoiding the weekend.
We started the trail before 8 am and had the lower waterfall to ourselves for at least half an hour. Then we enjoyed the middle and upper falls without anyone else around for another hour!
Amenities at Montezuma Waterfalls
There are no amenities at Montezuma Waterfalls. The falls have been kept natural, which is great, but don’t expect anything there.
There are no bathrooms, changerooms, food stalls or restaurants on-site.
The only amenity on offer is paid car parking at the riverbed trail entrance.
If you enter via the SunTrails property, I would assume they have at least toilets, but possibly changing rooms and showers too.
What to bring to the Montezuma Waterfalls
You can spend anywhere from an hour to a full day at the Montezuma Waterfalls. The walk itself isn’t overly long, and you may not choose to visit all three of the waterfalls so you don’t need a huge kit! But there are some things you’ll want to bring along regardless…
- 🥾 Sturdy walking shoes – full-blown hiking boots aren’t required, but you want to be in either comfortable trainers that you’re happy to get wet, or water shoes if you have them. The trail along the riverbed is a little tricky and slippery in places, especially during the wet season. If you’re going to tackle the free trail, you’ll want more than thongs (flip flops).
- 🎒 Waterproof bag – for any activity involving water (or possible rain) we use a waterproof bag. It’s peace of mind if you slip in the river or an unexpected shower comes along!
- 💧 Water – bring plenty of water, it’s hot in the sun and there is nowhere to buy drinks at the Montezuma Waterfalls.
- 🍍 Snacks – it’s not a long hike, but if you’re planning to spend a substantial amount of time at the waterfalls you might want some snacks or a picnic lunch.
Where to stay near Montezuma Waterfalls
Montezuma hosts some fantastic accommodations, all exuding the laid-back, friendly nature of the town. There are great options at all price points. Here are some of our favourites:
- 💰 Luminosa Montezuma Hostel
- $10 USD + per night check prices Hostelworld | Booking
- 💰 Luz en el Cielo Eco B&B and Hostel
- $30 USD + per night check prices Hostelworld | Booking
- 💰💰 Hotel Amor de Mar
- $80 USD + per night check prices Booking
- 💰💰💰 Casa Frangipani
Where to after the Montezuma Waterfalls?
There are so many other great things to do in Montezuma. Don’t miss hiking at Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, and checking out a unique waterfall that cascades into the ocean, El Chorro and Playa Cocalito.
Final thoughts: Montezuma Waterfalls
I hope this post has clarified how to visit the Montezuma Waterfalls. All the different entry and trail options can be confusing! Given the whole experience was completely free, we loved our visit to the falls!
MORE MONTEZUMA POSTS
- Things to do in Montezuma
- How to visit Playa Cocalito and El Chorro Waterfall
- Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve: Costa Rica’s First National Park
OUR COSTA RICA TRAVEL GUIDES
