La Leona Waterfall Hike From Tamarindo

La Leona Waterfall drops 23 meters into a turquoise basin carved from volcanic bedrock, fed by runoff from the Rincón de la Vieja massif that towers 1,916 meters to the east. The cascade lies within a private reserve established in 2009, when landowners in Curubandé formalized trail access and installed suspension bridges to protect the riparian corridor. Before that, the falls were known primarily to cattle ranchers and geologists studying the region's geothermal activity. The name honors a female puma — la leona — that locals reported near the headwaters in the 1980s, though sightings have grown rare as agriculture expanded along the foothills. Today the reserve protects 120 hectares of transitional dry-to-wet forest, a gradient that shifts with elevation and proximity to the volcanic highlands. Guanacaste Province experiences pronounced dry and wet seasons; from November through April, riverbeds shrink and dust coats the trails, while May through October brings afternoon cloudbursts that swell the cascade and turn the basin opaque with silt. The hike itself covers roughly three kilometers one way, beginning in secondary forest where cecropia and guanacaste trees shade the lower trail. Howler monkeys vocalize from the canopy at dawn, and coatis forage near the trailhead parking area. The path gains 180 meters in elevation, crossing two tributaries via wooden footbridges before reaching the main viewing platform. Rock formations at the base reveal columnar basalt, evidence of ancient lava flows that cooled into hexagonal pillars. During the wet season, a second, smaller cascade activates upstream, visible only from the upper viewpoint. Most visitors arrive from Tamarindo, a coastal hub 48 kilometers west by paved and gravel road. The drive traverses cattle pasture and remnant forest, passing through the village of Villarreal before entering the reserve's access road. Unlike Costa Rica's better-known waterfalls near La Fortuna or Monteverde, La Leona remains lightly trafficked — rangers report an average of 60 visitors per day during high season, February through March, and fewer than 20 during the wettest months. The site opens at 07:00, and early arrivals find the best light for photography as morning sun angles through the mist.