WHAT: A hike to the Catarata del Toro, a waterfall near the village of Bajos del Toro WHERE: Between two national parks, Juan Castro Blanco and Poás. Some 75 km from capital San José, Costa Rica HOW LONG: You can see the area and the waterfall itself in some 2 hours, if you walk slowly. You might consider having a meal or a stay in there too HOW MUCH: Admission for an adult is $14,-. A room will cost you $65,- (it's very basic but has everything you need) including entrance to the park and breakfast (for two)
The rain is pouring as we arrive after a long drive at Catarata del Toro. We run as fast as we can across the parking lot, but unfortunately it’s already to late; within meters we’re totally soaked. Not the best timing for a visit to a waterfall. But something’s gotta give, without rain it wouldn’t be so green in the area after all right?
As we enter the main building and restaurant of the privately owned park, we find out we are actually surrounded with some pretty sweet entertainment: a whole lot of colourful hummingbirds! They hardly seem to be bothered by the rain and to our surprise they come pretty close to the tables too, while flying around the sugar water bottles. Thus we settle down for lunch next to a group of American ornithologists, that came especially to this place to observe the birds and photograph them.
After an hour or so, and many many Kodak moments later, the sun suddenly starts to shine again. Hurray, what luck we have! Now we’re finally able to see where we actually are. As we hit the trail of the park we understand soon enough that we can consider ourselves to be in a very pristine piece of Costa Rica. The centerpiece of the area itself clearly is the waterfall, but the unspoiled surroundings have to be highlighted too.
The reserve borders two national parks, Juan Castro Blanco and Poás, and contains mountains, forests and lot of wildlife. At several places the trail has some great outlooks. Later we hear that the ultimate goal of the owners, a Costa Rican/Dutch couple, was to create a special tourist attraction based on the natural beauty of the reserve. While building the paths they aimed to have the lowest human impact as possible. And with effect: it’s truly a walk in the wild over here.
The hike towards the bottom part of the waterfall is about half an hour for an average hiker. It’s rather slippery at the very end, so do bring some decent shoes and an umbrella or raincoat too, if you want to defend yourself against the intense mist of the waterfall. The waterfall is enormous and the prettiest I’ve seen so far in Costa Rica (quite a few if I might say), due to its wild surroundings and the feeling that you really discovered a hidden gem.
If you’re up for a visit, keep in mind that the restaurant is open from 8am until 4pm. Now if you want to have a meal later in the evening, it’s best you’d go to the nearby town, Bajos del Toro. And if you’re in for an evening of fine dining, you should go to El Silencio Lodge & Spa. Trust me, you will not be disappointed by this choice.
For more information about Catarata del Toro, visit the website of the park
