Science and nature are mind-blowing sometimes. That is what I concluded after visiting Tenorio Volcano National Park in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica.
I went for the sky-blue-colored waterfall, Rio Celeste. I left with so much more including views of 3 volcanoes, gorgeous river views, and a science lesson in sediment mixing.
There's truly nothing like immersing yourself in nature and knowing it's there for us to witness and appreciate at any time. We just have to seek it out and keep on protecting it!
The Way to Sky River
I left the beach of Tamarindo with La Fortuna in mind as my destination. Along the way, I planned to stop at the waterfall that my Airbnb host in Paquera recommended to me. The waterfall is called Rio Celeste.
Rio Celeste is located in the northern lowlands of the Guanacaste province about 3 hours northeast of Tamarindo and just 90 minutes west of La Fortuna. As I drove nearer to the national park where it's located, I spotted the big, distant Guanacaste mountain range. Actually, these were not just mountains but volcanos, the Tenorio Volcanic Complex to be exact!
Accessing and Entering the Park
Rio Celeste Catarata (“Sky River Waterfall”) is a part of Tenorio Volcano National Park. There is fee to park a vehicle ($3) and then an entrance fee to access the main trail in ($12). Let me start of by saying—it's more than worth it!!
Anyone can visit the park between 8am and 4pm daily with last admittance at 2pm. I drove there in Blanca, my rental car, and arrived by 1:30pm. There were tour buses of people there, too, although they were wrapping up when I arrived. These tours can be arranged usually from any of the surrounding towns and other major cities.
Once inside the park, the paths are well maintained but not accessible if you are a wheelchair user.
The Walk to the Waterfall
Within the first few minutes of walking, I came across a helpful sign explaining the geography of Costa Rica'a volcanoes. I was excited because this was the introduction to my remaining few roadtrip days focused on Costa Rica's volcanoes.
There were a lot of people exiting the park as I was entering at 1:30pm. The last bus load of people were returning and I was very grateful to have a less crowded experience ahead!
Along the way, I was already admiring the vegetation, including some different trees and plants than I'd been exposed to so far. But this was only the beginning of what this park had to offer in the way of its flora.
As for its fauna, I mostly spotted different kinds of birds including hummingbirds and some unique lizards. Someone I saw on the trail said they spotted a beautifully colored yet poisonous variety of snake! Park signs also indicated tapir, puma, and jaguar are in the area.
But I otherwise experienced almost no major wildlife on this walk. And that's ok because I was mostly just there for the waterfall!
Locating Sky River Waterfall
Signs marked very clearly how far in the waterfall is: 1500 meters. Once I arrived, the path forked to take me down to Rio Celeste. It veered to the left and then there was no questioning its location.
The stairs heading down to the waterfall had wooden railings with a beautiful design that reminded me of something Elven-made straight out of the Lord of the Rings. It was absolutely stunning and the perfect decoration to set the vibe and frame the path down to this gorgeous spot.
The bright jungle greenery trailed alongside the elaborate, switchbacking staircase. The bright blue waters were peeking through the foliage on the way down.
With each step the waterfall came more fully into view.
Just WOW.
The piercing, smokey, sky blue color reminded me of the color of Lake Pukaki in New Zealand.
Local legend suggests that the blue color is the result of a higher power washing their brushes in the river here after painting the sky. The color actually comes from the mixing of a sediment from Rio Buenavista into Québrado Agría, which results in a change in pH that creates the color. Specifically, aluminosilicates change in size at the mixing point and remain suspended along the river, refracting light which gives off the blue color. Science!
This is one of those moments in nature where I stop and stare in awe of how our Earth can produce such beauty. We really do live in paradise. We just have to look for it--and protect it!
There is no swimming allowed at Rio Celeste and I super appreciate that. Humans tend to ruin beauty like this. If swimming was allowed, it would also be even more crowded than I'm sure it typically gets. I just caught it at a low visitor moment.
There seemed to be no other people there, which I was so grateful for. But as I got closer, I noticed another solo traveler sitting to the side enjoying the view. We decided to exchange taking photos of each other in front of the falls. I love when us solo travelers come through for each other with the pictures!
See the video below for my view as I came upon Rio Celeste and took in all of its beauty.
Up and Down
I honestly could have spent the rest of the day there just staring at this waterfall. But I also knew there was more to see in this park, and I wanted to get back on the road before it got too late.
Alas, I turned around to mount the stairs back up.
On the way down earlier, I noted how steep the stairs were. People coming up were stopping to catch their breath, so I was prepared for it.
The midday heat and humidity of the jungle already had me sweating but I didn't mind getting my heartrate up a bit! When I reached the top I definitely felt the burn in my quads!
I was motivated to keep going. Signs directed me left and deeper into the park. The path took me to a clearing before heading downhill again. This clearing was a viewpoint looking out at the park's main volcanoes.
In the photo above from left to right the volcanoes are Tenorio One, Tenorio Two, and Cerro Montezuma.
After pausing for this view, it was time to go back downhill again. This time it was down less decorative stairs.
Blue Lagoon and Bubbles
The trail noted several stops along the way. The first is Laguna Azul (“Blue Lagoon”), a gorgeous turquoise pool. It's reached at 2150 meters into the park.
The views here were also stunning and so peaceful as the river lightly trickles toward rapids and the waterfall beyond.
Next was Los Borbollones (“The Bubbles”) which is where hot volcanic gases bubble to the surface of the river. It's found at 2200 meters into the park.
There was a very cute bird bathing itself here. I loved this spot for all the beautiful big-leaf flora creating a jungle frame to the waters.
There was so much flora to admire all along this trail.
The Mixing Point Ending
A walk further into the park took me over two small bridges crossing the river at different point.
One of these bridges had particularly beautiful waters along its sides. This last bridge marked the near end of the trail.
Up just a little further was El Teñidero (“The Mixing Point) at 2500 meters into the park. This is the point where the two sediments mix to create the smokey sky blue color of Rio Celeste.
You can actually see the sediment separately moving along the river here, forming a streak of blue especially bright in the sunlight. I was captivated and couldn't resist taking tons of photos and video!
See below for a concluding video capturing an overview of all of my Tenorio Volcano National Park hike.
In Conclusion
I absolutely loved visiting Tenorio Volcano National Park. I obviously came for Rio Celeste, which turned out to be amazing. The Elvish railing down was an unexpected treat and the color of the water was truly unbelievable.
What I also didn't expect was just how beautiful and interesting the rest of the hike would be. It only took about an hour to explore and reach the end. I was back on the road after just a 2 hour in and back hike.
This was my introduction to Costa Rica volcanoes. Next, I was about to witness the most famous volcano in the whole country!
I'll get back to writing about t4pmhe last few stops on my trip in Costa Rica after New Years. Before then, I'll be posting my annual New Years check-in! Happy Holidays, everyone!
