Rio Celeste: Waterfall Hike, Sloths Sanctuary & Local Lunch

4.91

(126 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We started winding through the greenest forest I’ve ever seen, boots squishing in the mud (I should’ve worn the thicker socks). Our guide, Andrés, kept pausing to point out things I’d have missed—tiny red frogs on leaves, a flash of yellow from a toucan. The air smelled like wet earth and something sweet I couldn’t place. When we finally heard the sound of water getting louder, I got this weird rush. Then you turn a corner and—there it is—the Rio Celeste waterfall. It really is that shade of blue. I tried to take a photo but it just doesn’t get it right.

After the hike, we drove out to this sloth sanctuary called Ranitas. They said we’d definitely see sloths—I was skeptical—but yeah, they were everywhere, just hanging out in slow motion. One was scratching its belly and looked right at us. We also saw a couple of toucans (the guide called them “flying bananas,” which made me laugh), plus some frogs and even a snake curled up on a branch. The guides here actually care about the animals; you can tell by how they talk about them.

Lunch was at El Sabor de Doña Carmen—a place that smells like wood smoke and cilantro as soon as you walk in. We had casado with chicken (I think that’s what it was called), rice, beans, fried plantains—so good after all that walking. There’s this butterfly garden out back where you can wander while waiting for your food; I ended up just standing there watching these giant blue butterflies flap around. I still think about that view of the waterfall though—kind of sticks with you longer than you expect.