Quebrada Gata Waterfall, Pueblo Nuevo, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica

This trail leads to the (famous) Quebrada Gata Waterfall. There seem to be two options to get to the waterfall. One is to walk thru the ICE property and pass the powerplant (which is the one we did), or to walk all the way along the river. As we didn't know the path to walk all along the river, we chose the first option.

We drove with the car as close to the gate as we could. At the coordinates 10.290928988197432, -84.26519204433114, there is space beside the road where you can park the car. It's not an official parking lot. From there on, we walked up to the gate.

As you have to enter and pass the ICE property, it might feel a bit illegal to do it. I don't know if it's illegal, but I can tell you that we met some employees from ICE on the way back, and they just asked us if it was nice at the waterfall. We asked them if we might walk back up on the road thru the property, and they said yes. They weren't security personnel, so I don't know what they would have said.

The workers from ICE we met were extending the fence, which should block the access down to the river, which you have to follow. Maybe soon, it's not possible to access the river through the ICE property.

There is no specific path thru the rocks. You have to find your way. After getting down to the river from the access road to the powerplant, we crossed the river on the right side. Once you are thru the river and get to the other side, there is a small footpath thru the bushes. From there, you get to the rocks further up from which you have to find your way.

Some words about safety. It's not a crazy difficult hike, but still, it has its challenges. So, wear good footwear. Even though we did it with Teva sandals, closed shoes might be a better choice. Just keep in mind that you have to walk thru the water. In addition, keep attention to the weather. If it starts raining heavily, turn around as the water can rise quickly and might block your way back.

On the way back, I forgot to stop the tracking which is the reason why the end is at another point than the start :).