La Fortuna · Things to do

A 70m fall reached by about 500 concrete steps down a railed staircase, with swimming allowed in the pool and river at the bottom; allow 20–30 minutes each way on the steps. Entry is $20 for foreigners, $10 for Costa Rican nationals and free under 8, run by the town's ADIFORT community association.

A 3.2km loop with 16 bridges, six of them suspension spans, the tallest about 45m above the forest floor. Open daily 6:00 with last entry 3:50pm; self-guided walk $32 plus tax, guided $44 plus tax, and it is noticeably quieter after 1pm.

The easiest legal way onto the volcano's flank: 11km of trails inside Arenal Volcano National Park, including the Danta waterfall, hanging bridges and the Nest observation tower. Entrance-only day pass $22, or $40 with lunch; the park section is open 8:00–16:00 and the last stretch of road is rough.

A roughly two-hour guided crawl and wade through a limestone river cave about 45 minutes north of town, with a guide and equipment included and a natural pool to rest in partway through. You will get wet and muddy, and there are squeezes — not one for the claustrophobic.

A 2.5km reforested trail on the edge of town where sloths are reliably found in the same handful of trees; about two hours. $20 self-guided, $45 with a guide — pay for the guide, because spotting a motionless sloth 20m up is the whole skill.