The excellent news? Reaching Rio Celeste is comparatively simpler. The higher information? Learn by the following few paragraphs will make you much more excited to go there than you might be already, if that’s even doable.
By the point you attain the tip of this text, you’ll be nicely in your solution to Costa Rica’s stunning blue falls. You’ll additionally be taught an necessary secret about swimming in them I want I had know after I visited the primary time.
The place to Keep Close to Rio Celeste
Earlier than I get into the small print of how one can go to Rio Celeste, I believed we might begin with one thing extra basic: The place to remain the evening earlier than you go to. There are two fundamental choices. Some vacationers will keep in one of many cities near the falls, whereas others will journey from a bigger vacation spot close by, most certainly the new springs idyll of La Fortuna close to Volcan Arénal.
When you do keep close to Rio Celeste, a easy lodging resembling Posada la Amistad might be the most effective. Visitor homes like this are useful largely due to their comfort, which is vital when touring on this a part of Costa Rica. When you keep at La Fortuna’s Lodge el Silencio del Campo, in the meantime, you’ll go to Rio Celeste on a day journey, both through your individual personal automotive or on a day tour (extra on that later).
How you can Get to Rio Celeste
Hire a automotive
The best solution to attain Rio Celeste (and to journey in Costa Rica usually) is to have your individual set of wheels. As a normal rule, it’s finest to do that upon arrival on the airport in Liberia or San Jose to avoid wasting your self the difficulty of getting to seek out an in-town rental company.
(Or guide a tour)
However, when you’re planning to get across the nation by bus, you possibly can go to Rio Celeste on a tour from La Fortuna on an organized tour. This will also be advantageous for solo vacationers, because it means that you can mix your journey with what is probably going much-needed socialization.
Pay your entry payment
Rio Celeste is within the Tenorio Volcano Nationwide Park and in consequence, is topic to an entry payment. As of June 2022 that is $12 per individual. Observe that when you drive your individual automotive, additionally, you will have to pay $5 to park it on-site, though when you don’t thoughts strolling you could possibly park it alongside the principle highway at no cost.
Full the (simple) hike
When you’ve adopted your GPS (or your tour information) to the doorway, the query of how one can go to Rio Celeste is a straightforward one: You hike! The out-and-back path, which ends at Rio Celeste’s well-known waterfall, takes about an hour every manner, and is comparatively simple.
Swim—however take care
Opposite to some rumors you discover on-line, it’s doable to swim at Rio Celeste. Nevertheless, you must keep away from dunking your head into the water, or getting water into your eyes. The very minerals that give it its blue colour can even irritate your mucous membranes.
Is Rio Celeste Value Visiting?
Rio Celeste is fairly hyped on-line and in social media, not gonna lie. I’ve seen some articles that purpose to painting it as otherworldly and even alien-like. Oddly, many of those additionally counsel that Rio Celeste is someway off-the-beaten path. Whereas that could be true in a really literal sense, it positively doesn’t really feel missed in any manner—it’s going to virtually definitely be crowded if you go to.
But I do assume you must go to Rio Celeste—and that it’ll in all probability knock your socks off if you to. The jungles it flows by are comparatively regular for Costa Rica, which makes the sight of the blue waters by its thick vegetation all of the extra shocking. Then there’s the truth that you solely attain the waterfall on the finish of the path: It’s an enormous pay-off at exactly the proper second.
Different FAQ About Visiting Rio Celeste
Are you able to swim in Rio Celeste?
Opposite to in style perception, you possibly can swim at Rio Celeste (however solely within the river half—you possibly can’t swim beneath or close to the waterfall). The hot button is that you simply shouldn’t put your head underwater, as sure minerals within the water might irritate your mouth, nostril, ears or eyes.
Why is Rio Celeste blue?
Rio Celeste is blue as a result of a mix of volcanic minerals within the water. These embody, however will not be restricted to, Aluminum, silicon and oxygen. These minerals are additionally the rationale you shouldn’t put your head underwater when you swim in Rio Celeste.
How laborious is the Rio Celeste hike?
The Rio Celeste hike is comparatively simple. Other than the steps that lead right down to the waterfall on the finish of the hike, the path is usually flat and really well-maintained. It ought to take you round an hour every manner, though when you cease typically for pictures it might require a little bit bit extra time.
The Backside Line
I hope you might have a a lot clearer thought of how one can go to Rio Celeste now than you probably did if you arrive on this web page. Like most issues about touring in Costa Rica, attending to the nation’s stunning, blue waterfall requires simply the proper mixture of information and persistence, each of which repay in spades when you lastly get there. A few of you’ll journey to Rio Celeste independently, whereas others will take an organized tour from La Fortuna or elsewhere within the nation.
