La Fortuna Falls, 500 Steps, and the Maleku Palenque

Eight kilometres of walking, spread across a day, inside the Arenal Volcano National Park. The first stretch follows the La Fortuna river, then a vehicle takes over as far as a viewpoint. After that comes the part everybody remembers: about 500 steps down to the waterfall, which drops more than 70 metres into a pool clear enough to swim in. The steps are also the way back up. Twenty minutes on foot from there is the village of the Maleku community, where their traditions, culture and language are explained and one of their palenques, the main houses, can be visited. Lunch is at a local restaurant nearby. The afternoon walk goes towards Arenal through forest with birds, monkeys, sloths and coatis in it. After crossing the lake you reach the highest viewpoint over the volcano. The descent ends at the Arenal hot springs. Cancellation is free up to 12 hours before the start, which is a shorter window than most.