Cangreja Waterfall Hike, Rincon de la Vieja National Park
While in Costa Rica for a wedding, a big group of us took a day to do the Cangreja Waterfall hike in Rincon de la Vieja National Park. It’s located close to the city of Liberia in the northern part of the country.
Most people visit the national park to see the cinder cone volcano – Rincon de la Vieja, comprised of nine contiguous craters. To get to the crater it’s an 8 km hike with a lot of vertical gain – not something many in the group would have been interested in doing had the trail even been open.
But the trail, as we found out upon our arrival, has been closed for a while as there has been a lot of volcanic activity lately. The last eruption according to Wikipedia was in 1998.
We planned to do the easier 10 km round trip hike to La Cangreja waterfall. Swimsuits were added to our backpacks though none of us really knew what to expect on the Cangreja waterfall hike.
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Rincon de la Vieja National Park
The Cangreja Waterfall hike ended up being quite interesting as we made our way through a number of different ecosystems. Starting out it felt more lush and tropical, with big trees and slick trails. But after just a few kilometres it opened up and we emerged on a dry hillside with a view to Nicaragua.
That was totally unexpected. From there it was back into a landscape filled with more giant trees and big roots, seemingly designed to trip you up – all the way until we reached La Cangreja waterfall.
Snake alert on the Cangreja Waterfall hike
Of course we were all on high snake alert for the duration of the Canrgeja waterfall hike, especially after seeing pickled samples in the park office. Costa Rica is home to loads of venomous snakes including the bushmaster and Fer de Lance – though I don’t know exactly what landscape specifically they prefer.
Fortunately, we didn’t see a single one but we did see a turquoise-browed Motmot (one of 300 bird species that have been sighted in the park), two monkey species, a lizard, an agouti, and several other birds. Biting insects were almost non-existent.
Rincon de la Vieja National Park has loads of other trails we would have loved to explore had we had the time. There are trails that take you by steaming fumaroles, boiling mud pots, and even to thermal hot springs.
What we saw on the Cangreja waterfall hike
For more information on Costa Rica visit the tourism board website.
Further reading on Central America and the Caribbean
- A Volcano in Costa Rica you’ll Want to Hike
- 32 Interesting Facts About Costa Rica
- 5 Amazing Volcanoes to Hike in Nicaragua
- 10 Best Things to Do in Panama
- Gros Piton Hike in St. Lucia
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What a great adventure! I personally love hiking, so I would love a trip like this. I am definitely adding this to my bucket list. The pictures are magnificent. Thank you for sharing!
-Sara
@Sara This was definitely one of the winning hikes we did in Costa Rica. The other was a 6 1/2 hour climb up Miravalles Volcano.
@Costs Rica Tours We’d been to some of the other places in CR on a previous trip so we were quite happy to explore a new National Park.
These wildflowers let me think of a plant we have in Sicily. Maybe its name is lantana or something like that.
@Calogero I think you’re absolutely right about the name.
Pickled snakes?! Ewww. I think after I saw all those, I’d be careful, too. I love how verdant and green that hike is. It’s so different from the Canadian hikes you often post. That strangler fig is so visually interesting… biologically interesting, too, as long as you’re not the tree that’s being strangled. Were the monkeys mischievous or did they leave you alone?
@Michele The hike offered so much and was so wildly different than anything I do in Canada that it was a real treat. I hate snakes but don’t want to be paralyzed by fear so I put them to the back of my mind. And these were nice monkeys; they left us alone so they did have something to say about our presence.
Nothing quite like a jungle hike ending at a beautiful waterfall. Great that you saw some cool wildlife along the way (although no snakes). Good thing to be on high snake alert in this part of the world. I am going to Borneo tomorrow, so I will be doing the same.
@Ted It was such a treat to go for a swim especially because it was so humid. Sounds like you are off on a real adventure.
What an awesome hike Leigh. What’s not to love when you can have waterfalls, swims, tunnels of trees (and such interesting patterns and shapes on those huge trunks). I hope your son’s wedding was wonderful too!
@Johanna It was a nice change visually to do a hike in a tropical country. My son’s wedding was beautiful and a great success.
Hi Leigh, what a beautiful hike. It’s nice to see you in a tropical surrounding this time. I enjoyed everything that you saw on your trail – the birds, the monkeys, the wild strangler trees, the tunnels of green and, of course, the waterfalls and the pool! Everything looked amazing. Congratulations to your son’s wedding. It must be very memorable.
@Marisol For a 10 km hike it offered a lot of bang for the proverbial buck. I’d have to say that the monkeys and the waterfalls were the highlights for me.
Those look like ceiba or silk cotton trees, Leigh. We have them in Jamaica. They have very large, very distinctive, buttress roots. The trees can be several hundred years old.
Ceiba trees rings a bell Marcia. Thanks for that. I love the texture of those trees and just how much shade they can provide.
Snakes are not something that I ever want to see on a hiking trail! Love how green everything is, and that swimming hole looks fantastic!
I have wanted to visit Costa Rica just to see the capuchin monkeys in the wild. This looks so wonderful with the waterfalls as a bonus. Of course, I would be so paranoid with the prospect of all those snakes. Those trees are amazing. I’ve never heard of an agouti so what a treat to know about and virtually see. Glad you got to do some sightseeing and hiking.
Love the strangler fig photo and the lizard one – so good. I have not seen or even heard of the agouti. Great photo.
You captured the richness of the colors so well, Leigh! What an amazing trail you followed (not sure after seeing the selection of snakes) I would have headed out on it though. . .I am glad you did, I enjoyed the tour!
@Jackie I think you have to put the snake thing at the back of your mind – be aware of them but don’t freak out. I saw one when we hiked a volcano – and it was thankfully non venomous but 5 feet long.
Wow, that definitely looks like a great hike with all that diverse scenery! Makes me want to consider going to Costa Rica.
@Michael I loved exactly what you mention – great animal sightings, interesting scenery and a beautiful swim to top it all off.
Everything looks so incredibly green. Beautiful!
@Sophie It was a feast for the eyes – especially the waterfall.
Those trees are fascinating. And very similar to some I’ve seen in India.
@Mette I am always amazed at the size and the texture of those trees.
Amazing photos. Love the emerald water pools, the giant trees (you should have taken a photo next to one so people can have an idea of their magnitude). The agouti looks like a cross between a rabbit and rat.
@Rachel I agree that conveying a sense of scale is very important. The agouti with its bright red ears is definitely a strange looking creature. Unfortunately it’s numbers are going down because its’ meat it so highly prized. Our guide told us it sells for about $30/kg.
Beautiful photos – it looks like an amazing hike! I would love to see a spider monkey – even if they were far up in the tree. My older daughter is going to Costa Rica on a service trip for spring break – I’m a little jealous!
@Lisa The spider monkeys had to be at least 100 feet up at the very top of the tallest trees. All the monkeys were great fun to see.
What a fascinating journey this was for you! So much wildlife and I still can’t get over the size of that Papaya!! Wow!! Sure looks like you had a marvelous time as evidenced by your gorgeous pics!!
@Jeff It was a great way to spend time with people I care about – and to have fun doing it.
I haven’t hiked in this national park in Costa Rica, but love hiking there – especially since there are so many good opportunities to see monkeys. Looks like a great hike.
@Laurel It was a fun hike and very different than one I’d done earlier up a volcano. Loved coming across two types of monkeys.
It’s safe to say that I’ve never been on a hike that had such a diversity of wildlife, scenery and terrain. I’d be a little apprehensive about running into one of those venomous snakes, but otherwise would love this hike. What a view to Nicaragua!
@Cathy I hate snakes as much as anybody can hate a snake but after not seeing one on the way there I got over my fears. That’s one of the reasons we had a guide. It was an interesting hike and a good way to get to know my son’s in-laws.
Hey Cathy,
Great Post! You got some amazing shots. How long was this tour? How long did you spend at the waterfall? What company? Thanks for the help!
Will
Hello Will, WE spent about an hour at the waterfall – plenty of time to go swimming and eat fruit. We hired a local company out of the nearest village closest to the Four Seasons where we were staying.