The Ultimate Guide to the Uvita Waterfall

Did you even visit Costa Rica if you didn’t take a refreshing cold plunge at a waterfall?

Here at Bodhi Surf + Yoga, we are lucky enough to have the pristine Uvita Waterfall at just a fifteen-minute drive from us. It’s the ideal place to go and cool off after a warm day of sun and fun.

We actually include a trip to the Uvita Waterfall for all of our guests who join us for our surf + yoga experiences. It’s also one of our favorite places as locals to go to in our free time.

If we didn’t think it was a great place to spend some time and connect with nature ourselves, we wouldn’t send our guests there!

Keep reading to learn more about how to plan the perfect day/half-day trip to the Uvita Waterfall.

Before Going to the Uvita Waterfall

We’ll get into more details about the Uvita Waterfall throughout the blog, including some of our Bodhi Surf + Yoga pro tips. But first, here is some need-to-know information ahead of your visit.

• Name: Uvita Waterfall (Catarata Uvita, in Spanish)
• Location: Uvita Waterfall above entrance
• Price: 2,000 Costa Rica colones (about $4) per person

• Where to buy entrances: At the entrance only – can not be bought online or in advance
• Hours of operation: from 8am – 6pm
• Amenities: Bathrooms, restaurant, parking

• Duration (for the trip included for our guests): 2.5 hours
• Walk from the entrance to the waterfall: 5 – 10 minutes

Please note that the entrance fee listed here is covered by Bodhi Surf + Yoga for our guests on the day of their trip to the Uvita Waterfall.

This is not one of those extreme hikes to reach the waterfall. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

After arriving at the entrance of the Uvita Waterfall (which is where the restaurant is), you just have a quick walk down to the stream and waterfall. To get there, you just follow the paved path and handrail down.

Cool Off at Uvita’s Best Sheltered Oasis

The Uvita Waterfall is one of the best places in Uvita to escape the sun and heat, but still be outside enjoying nature.

We absolutely love being at the beach basking in the sun and enjoying the warm days. But sometimes it’s also necessary to refrescarse and enjoy some cooler temperatures.

One of the best things about the Uvita Waterfall is that it’s very close and accessible from the town of Uvita, but it feels so much further away when you’re there.

This waterfall is nestled in the jungle just outside of Uvita. While sitting there immersing in the sounds of the jungle and the air’s cooling mist, it’s easy to forget you’re only 10 minutes outside of town.

Take a Cooling Dip – You Deserve It

One of the most popular things to do there (and the main reason for going!) is to get your hair wet and go for a swim in the Uvita Waterfall’s natural swimming pool.

The water here is significantly colder than that of the Marino Ballena National Park where we conduct our surf lessons. In fact, many guests refer to the beach water as “bath water,” due to its warm (but so amazing) temperature.

The water that you can swim in at the Uvita Waterfall is fresh, cold water that runs down from the lush mountains above. 

Even without submerging yourself in the natural pool, you can still enjoy the cooler temperatures while staying dry. The area around the waterfall is sheltered and shaded from the sun by the surrounding jungle – look out for monkeys and sloths!

What Else Can You Do Here?

A day or half-day trip to the Uvita Waterfall can be one of the most relaxing things you do during your time here in Uvita, Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica.

There’s also something here for the adrenaline junkies, too!

For those who like a little bit of a thrill, but nothing too serious – there is a platform at the Uvita Waterfall. It’s designed for people to jump off of into a stream, just a quick swim away from the natural pool that the waterfall pours into.

While there, you’ll probably also see locals and other visitors sliding down or jumping off of the actual waterfall. There is a ladder attached to the rocks that allows you to climb up to the top of the waterfall.

To be completely transparent, we recommend to our guests staying with us that they don’t do this. Over the years, we’ve had a couple of incidents whereby guests have hurt their ears doing this – due to the change in pressure from plunging into the water.

These few injuries have never been too serious, but having an ear injury usually makes surfing quite uncomfortable!

The Uvita Waterfall also has a restaurant at the entrance. We recommend to our guests that they grab some lunch there during their visit. It’s a great place to sit with some food or a coffee before or after checking out the waterfall.

Small is Beautiful

The Uvita Waterfall isn’t the most well-known or magnificent waterfall in Costa Rica. It’s certainly beautiful, but it just isn’t at the top of everyone’s Costa Rica waterfalls bucket list.

But that’s one of the reasons that we love it so much. This means that it’s NOT:

• Overpriced
• Overcrowded and full of people
• Overdeveloped
• Being strained of resources

Our ethos here at Bodhi Surf + Yoga is that small is beautiful. Just because something can be further developed and made bigger doesn’t mean that it should.

By keeping things small and low-key, it means that those who do go are able to have a much more enjoyable and high-quality experience.

As we said, there are some absolutely incredible photos of Costa Rica. But for the large majority of them, you’ll be joined by hundreds of other people on your visit.

Here at the Uvita Waterfall, there aren’t tour buses arriving every hour to unload large amounts of people.

Getting to the Uvita Waterfall

If you’re a guest with us here enjoying one of our surf + yoga experiences, you don’t even need to worry about getting to the Uvita Waterfall. We take care of that for you!

Each week, usually on a Monday afternoon, we have our guests take a trip up to the Uvita Waterfall to spend two-and-a-half hours there.

We have a taxi come to collect you from here at Bodhi Surf + Yoga, and make the ten-minute drive up to the entrance of the property that the waterfall is on. From there, it picks you up again two and-a-half hours later.

For Those not Going from Bodhi Surf + Yoga

If you’re not staying with us, you can still easily get to the Uvita Waterfall.

When reserving a taxi, just ask to go to: “the Uvita Waterfall, second/above entrance”. Or in Spanish: “La entrada de arriba”. 

From here in Bahia, that taxi should cost about USD $10 each way. If you’re already in Uvita, the taxi should cost slightly less than that.

If you plan on driving in your own car, you’re heading to this location. Again, from Bahia the drive is between 10-15 minutes, and from Uvita about 10 minutes.

The road leading to the Uvita Waterfall becomes relatively steep and unpaved. Your car does NOT have to have 4×4, however.

Is by Car the Only Way to Arrive?

The Uvita Waterfall is NOT only accessible by car, although it’s definitely our recommended way of getting there and back from Bahia.

You can also cycle to the entrance on a mountain bike or another bike with gears.

This is a quite manageable way to get there, even if it involves getting off your bike at the start of the hill and pushing it up.

Either way, it’ll definitely be a sweaty journey. But that just means you’ll have earned yourself that cold water plunge!

What to Take to the Uvita Waterfall

We tell our guests every week that they should take:

• A swimsuit
• Sneakers or closed-shoes
• A towel
• A small bag for water, wallet, etc.
• Sun protection

With these few things, you’re pretty much set for your visit to the Uvita Waterfall.

The reason that we suggest wearing sneakers and not flip flops is because of the 5 – 10 minute walk down to the stream from the entrance. 

The path leading down is well paved and even has steps carved into it some of the way. However, it can be slippery, so it’s better to be safe and wear shoes more appropriate for these conditions.

Although we cover the taxi and entrance fees for our guests, we still recommend that they take their wallets with them.

The restaurant at the entrance is a delicious spot to grab some lunch, a fresh fruit smoothie, or a coffee.

Many of our guests also take a book with them to the waterfall. There are spaces where you can lay out on your towel and enjoy the relaxing sounds of the jungle – perfect reading conditions, no?

Although the Uvita Waterfall is shaded and protected from the sun, we do also advise guests to take sun protection. This is usually in the form of sunglasses, a hat, and sunblock.

It doesn’t need to be super sunny out to burn – it’s better safe than sorry!

Leaving Belongings Unattended

As we recommend bringing these items in a backpack, we also always encourage guests to keep an eye on their bags and other belongings while they’re in the water. 

You can leave your bags and towels on the dry rocks visible from the natural pool.

We’ve never had a guest have anything taken from the Uvita Waterfall, but we always opt to err on the edge of caution.

We don’t mean to say that you can’t take your eyes off your bag for one moment while in the water. We just encourage you to be vigilant and not go too long without having a look back to check on your things.

Bodhi Surf + Yoga Pro tips

If you’ve made it this far into the blog, you must be keen for some Bodhi Surf + Yoga pro tips!

The truth is, there’s no special secret to having a safe and enjoyable trip to the Uvita Waterfall. 

As we always explain to our guests, all it takes to empower yourself to have a positive experience here in Uvita is the use of common sense.

If something doesn’t feel safe to you, it’s probably not. If you don’t feel comfortable somewhere, it’s a good idea to remove yourself from there.

But as you’d expect, with over 13 years of welcoming guests here to our little slice of paradise, we’ve, of course, got a little extra insight that we’d be stoked to share with you about the Uvita Waterfall.

We do recommend picking a dry, sunny day to go and enjoy this location at its best. The Uvita Waterfall is definitely visitable in the rain, but we prefer sunny days because:

• The path can become slippery in the rain
• With too much rain, they close the waterfall for safety reasons
• The water can get an orange-murky color with a lot of rain

And plus, the cold natural pool is much better enjoyed in the heat and the sun!

Don’t go Chasing Waterfalls, Unless it’s This One!

After writing this, we’re definitely craving a trip to the Uvita Waterfall. Are you?

Just thinking about taking a cold plunge into the natural pool and swimming around in its refreshing waters makes us want to get up and go, now!

The Uvita Waterfall is just one of the many Bodhi Surf + Yoga recommended activities for your time here in Uvita, Costa Rica. Check out our recent YouTube video to see what else you can get up to.

Whatever it is that you’re looking for here in our community, we’re sure that you won’t be disappointed with your trip to the Uvita Waterfall.

And while you’re here being adventurous, why not hit us up for a surf lesson?