Cascada Pozo Azul is home to the largest waterfall in Bajos Del Toro, as well as several gorgeous swimming holes. To reach the falls, you’ll walk through rainforest teeming with birds, butterflies and leaf cutter ants. You can even cross the river on a little basket contraption, which was a first for us, and really good fun!
It’s one of the steeper and more rustic tracks in the area if you want to go all the way to the base of the falls, but it’s worth the effort to see the majesty of the waterfall from below.
If you simply fancy an afternoon water hole hopping, the walk is easy. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Cascada Pozo Azul.
The walk to Catarata Caida Nieve y Paz
The stats
Distance: 3.4km return
Elevation gain: 250m
Difficulty: Moderate
Catarata Caida Nieve y Paz is the tallest waterfall on the property and the only part of the walk which is a bit challenging.
Although you pass all four swimming spots on the way, we’ll cover the walk to the biggest waterfall first and the swimming holes later in the post.
This is the way we walked the track, as we wanted to get the grunt work done first, and swim to cool off afterwards.
Starting the trail
From the cafe and reception area, the walk begins along the grassy lawn. The path runs parallel to the river and you’ll see four left turns you could make, which lead down to various swimming holes. Each turn is obvious and marked with a Costa Rican flag and usually an additional sign too.
After a few hundred metres you’ll see the final trail leading downhill to the left, and this is the route to Catarata Caida Nieve y Paz.
The track begins heading downhill into the forest, it’s a bit uneven, but there are rope hand rails to help you if needed.
The foliage provides lots of shade and the walk from here is beautiful. After approximately 150m descending, you’ll reach the crystal clear river. It’s absolutely stunning, surrounded by dense rainforest and mossy boulders.
Crossing the river
You have two options for crossing the river: the funny little basket contraption and some big boulders.
I opted for the basket because I’ve never done it before and thought it looked like fun. It is!
If it’s on the other side of the river you can just pull on the ropes to bring it back.
It’s big enough for two people and you basically sit in it and pull on the ropes to drag yourself across. I thought it might be hard, but it’s actually pretty easy, although with little to no body strength, I was glad the crossing wasn’t too long : )
If you don’t fancy the basket, you can also rock hop over the river using the boulders. It’s easy and there’s a rope there to hold onto.
On to the lookouts
From the other side of the river you begin climbing up a staircase. You can make a quick detour to a lookout, which is less than 100m each way. It offers a fantastic view over the top of the waterfall.
From here you have a little bit of uphill to go, but it’s just a few minutes before you reach another lookout. This one looks out over the forest. You can’t see the waterfall, but it’s still a good view.
There is a bench seat and also a few cheesy Bali-esque constructions to frame photos.
From here you have about 700m of descending to go.
Descending to the base of the falls
Although there is only a short distance to go, this is the slowest part of the walk. It’s quite steep and the terrain gets rougher.
The first 300m are not too bad as they are mostly on stairs, but then it does steepen again. For most of the way there are rope handrails to give some stability.
The main issue is that sections of this stretch of track are slippery. We were walking in dry season and it wasn’t too damp or muddy, but there were patches of loose soil.
I think in the rainy season it would definitely be quite a challenge if you’re not ultra sturdy on your feet (like me).
The final 400m to the lower viewpoint are no longer on stairs and mixed with the steepness, I was glad of the ropes.
The scenery is great though, and there were plenty of butterflies and armies of leaf cutter ants to entertain us.
Arriving at Catarata Caida Nieve y Paz
After you’ve been walking for 1.5km (from the car park) you’ll arrive at the lower lookout. This offers a pretty close up view of the falls, which are truly stunning and definitely one of the most impressive waterfalls in Costa Rica.
The water flow wasn’t huge on our visit, but it was still dramatic, with the high cliff walls and sea of green trees. There are ropes to deter you from descending the last few metres to the river bed.
Although we saw footprints to indicate people do go down, we chose not to. The last bit of the dirt track to the river bed was slick mud and looked a bit sketchy.
If you do go down, you’ll then have a little bit of walking on rocks to go before you get to the very base of the falls. I can imagine the view is amazing from there, but it definitely looked like there was a bit of a slip risk.
Climbing back up the hill to swimming spot number one
The climb back up the hill is steep, but actually didn’t last as long as I thought it would. It’s only about 700m long and took us around 25 minutes - we were going pretty slowly.
This was our first walk with any elevation in a loooong time and combined with the humidity, we were not feeling trail fit! You could definitely walk back up more quickly.
Once you arrive at the top, you have a little descending to get to the river and then a short ascent back up to the grassy track again.
From here it’s 30m to the first trail on the right, which leads to one of four swimming holes. The pool is 45m downhill, along an uneven path, but it’s not like the trail to Catarata Caida Nieve y Paz.
The last bit involves walking over some large rocks, but when dry they aren’t slippery, and even the damp ones were fine if you went slowly.
Swimming at Catarata y Poza las Nacientes
Even before you reach the foot of the falls you know you’ll be in for a treat because the view from the trail is fantastic.
The waterfall has several cascades and the surrounding rock walls are covered in dense foliage. The far right wall looks like the kind of vertical garden that 5 star hotels try to recreate - but they could never come close to the beauty of the real thing.
The pool is great for a cooling dip, but not so much for an actual swim. The left side of the pool is quite shallow and there are a lot of rocks.
The right side is deeper and more unobstructed, but the current from the falls is surprisingly strong. Still it’s a refreshing and relaxing place to sit and cool off in the water.
And on that note, if you’ve not swum in Bajos Del Toro before, you might be surprised at how cold the water is.
As you’re in the mountains, it’s generally pretty icy and to be honest not much different to swimming in waterfalls in England (in the summer).
If you don’t want to swim, there are plenty of boulders where you can sit and relax beside the water.
Onto swimming hole number two - Catarata Pozo Azul
This next spot was my absolute favourite along the trail. From the base of the previous waterhole to this one, it’s just 100m. You head back up onto the main trail and then take the next path along, which leads downhill.
It’s shorter and easier to get down to this one.
To access the falls and swimming hole, you’ll need to cross a shallow pool. Although there are patches of rocks you can use, at one point you do need to get into the water - but just for a minute.
It’s easy enough, but a few of the rocks were slippery underfoot, so you have to take it slowly.
Your reward is a truly fabulous little swimming hole. It has a grotto like feel, with two cascades and an overhang covered in moss.
Although, as we were visiting late in the day, the water colour looked more emerald than blue, I can see how it would look blue in the sunlight earlier in the day.
It’s a crystal clear pool and a delight for swimming. The water gets deep quickly and there is little in the way of the rocks to negotiate. It’s an idyllic spot and though it has the same cold water as the first pool, you can swim to warm up in this one.
Onto swimming hole number three - Poza El Tobogan
It’s a similar distance to the next pool and this one has stairs and a rope handrail to get down. Although it’s a lovely spot, for me, it’s somewhat marred by the water slide!
When we visited there was no one using the slide and I could have swum in the pretty green pool, but it didn’t have that same wild vibe as the first two, so I didn’t go in.
The slide itself looks pretty hectic! The sides are quite low and there’s nothing to stop you picking up momentum and going straight over the edge.
I don’t think it’s worth the risk, but then I’m not a daredevil, I imagine loads of people love it! And on that note, to access the slide, you don’t turn down the trail to this pool, you continue along the main path until you see the top of the slide, a minute or so further on.
Swimming hole number four - Catarata Y Poza Las Rocas
Just a touch beyond the slide you’ll see the final side trail and this leads to the rocky area on top of a gorgeous little canyon waterfall. Unfortunately for us, we ended up at this point just before dark and we actually didn’t see the track leading down to the base.
The waterfall looked great, but quite where the access to it was, I don’t know! It looks like it has a fab little swimming hole, so don’t make our mistake and arrive too late in the day, as the whole area has so much to explore!
From the side trail that leads down to the rocky area, you are just over 100m away from the cafe and car park.
The best time to visit Cascada Pozo Azul
As with all waterfalls in the area, Cascada Pozo Azul is more popular with locals than international tourists - so far anyway! Lots of people come up from San Jose for the day on weekends, so it’s best to avoid weekends if you can.
Having said that we visited on a Sunday afternoon and it wasn’t too bad at all. Most people were picnicking when we arrived, but for the final two hours of the day we had each spot either to ourselves, or shared with just one other couple. So as long as you avoid the middle of the day, you are probably going to be ok.
In terms of seasons, for swimming, it’s best to visit in the dry season when the water will be clearer, although the main waterfall will have a much more impressive flow in the rainy season.
Cascada Pozo Azul opening hours and entry fee
As with all waterfalls we visited in the area, Cascada Pozo Azul is on private land. At time of writing the falls are open between 7am and 5pm. Having said that, the close time was loose. We were told we could spend longer, and we didn’t leave until 5.30pm.
The entry fee for adults is 4000 colones (approx USD $7.20).
There are toilets and showers on site, as well as a cafe.
Getting to Cascada Pozo Azul
The last 750m to the car park are on a bumpy unsealed road. However, in dry season at least, you don’t need a 4WD. I am not sure what it’s like after heavy rain.
It’s 77km and just over a two hour drive from San Jose. There are some very steep and windy mountain roads to negotiate, with no safety barriers so drive slowly - you pretty much have to anyway due to the gradient! There are many potholes along the way.
It’s 70 km and around 1.5 hours to La Fortuna, the roads are not steep and there are less potholes (but still plenty as you arrive at or leave Bajos).
Both these roads are paved and you do not need a 4WD, but you do need a car with a bit of grunt to make it up the super steep hills from San Jose.
There is currently no public transport to the pools ,so you really do want your own car unless you are going to take a tour.
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