Best Things to do in Rio Cuarto Costa Rica

When I visited Costa Rica, the area I stayed in the longest was at a jungle eco lodge in Rio Cuarto.

The lodge was surrounded by rainforest, rivers, farmland, and more wildlife than I had ever seen in one place. Every morning we would eat breakfast at the same restaurant in the lodge to howler monkeys in the distance and every evening I fell asleep to the sound of rain hitting the roof and other weird unexplained sounds.

In this article I am going to talk about the best things to do in Rio Cuarto, how the area is and highlight some of my experiences.

To be honest, Rio Cuarto wasn’t even on my radar before arriving in Costa Rica. I’ve never heard of it before finding our hotel. Most travelers head straight for La Fortuna or the beaches and completely skip this part of the country.

Rio Cuarto is definitely not a popular place in Costa Rica by any means. But it’s Costa Rica, so no matter where you are there are tons of things to do. I think of it as a cheaper La Fortuna.

Rio Cuarto is a region in the northern highlands of Costa Rica, just north of San Jose. While driving from the airport to Rio Cuarto, we had to go up a winding mountain. Up in these mountains it was very cold for Costa Rica and it rained for 2 straight days from the moment we landed.

I wrote a full Costa Rica 10 day itinerary for those of you who want an easy guide to follow that includes all these amazing places and activities.

Things to do in Rio Cuarto Costa Rica: My experience

Unlike places such as La Fortuna where you’re constantly rushing between attractions, we just discovered things on the fly or asked the people working at our eco lodge for recommendations.

Most of my time here wasn’t spent checking sights off a list. It was spent hiking random trails near my eco-lodge, watching wildlife, whitewater rafting and exploring dirt roads that seemed to disappear into the rainforest.

One thing that surprised me was how rural it felt. Outside the small town center, I often drove for long stretches without seeing another tourist. Instead, there were dairy farms, pineapple fields, forests, rivers, and local families going about their day. A lit of people wore high rubber boots, maybe because of all the wet ground and mud.

If I only had two or three days here, my priorities would be Laguna Rio Cuarto, whitewater rafting on the Sarapiquí River, and a day exploring the waterfalls around Bajos del Toro. Those were easily the highlights of my time in the area.

Laguna Rio Cuarto

Out of all the places I visited in Rio Cuarto, Laguna Rio Cuarto surprised me the most. When we drove up through the dirt track and finally set eyes on it, it seemed magical to me. We were shocked that this was here the entire time and it was just something the hotel guy recommended to us.

It was so quiet and eerie like something out of a movie. The water was very still and sits inside a volcanic crater formed into an almost perfect circle. I was really surprised to see that we were the only tourists here. There were literally no other people here besides 2 workers at the entrance building. There was absolutely nobody in the lake at all and we had the lake to ourselves for the entire day.

If you are thinking whether or not it’s worth visiting, it absolutely is. It’s one of the most unique lakes I’ve ever seen. What I like most about it is how it looks. It just looks like it could have anacondas waiting to eat you up and at the same time it looks untouched and peaceful.

One of the most important things to do before visiting Rio Cuarto is to rent a car. There won’t be any other reliable way to get around much. Most of the things to do are adventure activities that require going to remote places and driving over hills and through mud. Getting to this lake is no different.

I prefer to visit some places in the rainy season and Costa Rica is one of them. In the rainy season, the forests get denser and more green. You are also more likely to spot cool animals like sloths, toucans and monkeys.

Hiking Through Forests and Hills

I stayed in an eco lodge that was build in the middle of a forested area. You could step out of your room and begin a hike immediately. One morning I walked out of my cabin with a cup of coffee and spotted a sloth before I had even left the property. There are dozens of unmarked trails and farm roads that wind through forests and river valleys. While walking here I spotted, silky ant eaters, sloths, capuchin and howler monkeys and armadillos.

If you want a greater challenge you can drive for about 30 minutes to Bajos del Toro. There you can do cloud forests trails and see so many waterfalls and rivers. The mountain air is a lot cooler than down in the flat lands.

Exploring Catarata del Toro and Nearby Waterfalls

One of the best day trips from Rio Cuarto is to Catarata del Toro. This is located near to Bocas del Toro. This is one of the tallest waterfalls in Costa Rica, at 90 meters tall and it drops into a volcanic crater. You can hike down from here through dense cloud forests and stand on a platform at the bottom surrounded by cliffs with the waterfall falling around you.

There are other shorter trails that lead to waterfalls like Blue Falls of Costa Rica. Here the minerals in the water turn it blue, attracting a lot of tourists every day. I recommend coming here early in the morning before any crowds, so you can have it all to yourself for the best pictures. The waterfalls flow year round so no matter what month you come it will be amazing.

Whitewater Rafting

Whitewater rafting is probably the most fun and exhilarating thing I’ve ever done in Costa Rica. If you are used to kayaking or paddleboarding then this should come easy.

Just about 20 minutes from Rio Cuarto town, there is an eco lodge called Hacienda Pozo Azul. You can easily put it in Google Maps and get directions. If you love outdoor adventure activities, this place is for you and has some of the best things to do in Rio Cuarto. You can do whitewater rafting, horseback riding through the jungle and canopy ziplining.

You can stay at this eco lodge if you like as there are rooms here, restaurants that serve great food and everything is very cheap. This is an amazing place if you want to go on a Costa Rica budget itinerary. You can sign up to do combo activities or if you just want the whitewater rafting that’s fine. They give you all the gear you need and also train you for about 20 minutes on what to do and how to operate when on the rapids. The name of the river is Sarapiqui.

I remember thinking the safety briefing was overkill until about five minutes into the trip when our raft hit the first major rapid and everyone started screaming.

The entire river rapids ride takes 2 hours. Honestly, it felt much shorter than that because of how engaged and focus you have to be. There is the main raft guide inside the raft with you controlling everything and guiding the raft and there is another guy on a smaller kayak that races ahead and sets up at good positions to take pictures of you while you’re doing the rapids. You don’t have to worry about getting photos of yourself.

Horseback Riding through the Jungle

At the same eco lodge you do whitewater rafting at, you can also do horseback riding. I recommend spending a full day at this lodge and taking part in all the fun activities. These horses were some of the most intelligent animals I’ve ever interacted with. They listen and react to your every command and action with a quick response time. Horseback riding in Costa Rica is one of the best things to do in Rio Cuarto. This is a 2 hour ride, going from the stables at the lodge, through the jungle and highlands and rivers and back to the stables.

At first the tour guy in charge of the horses will assign each person a horse and go through all the commands and actions you will need to navigate the horse. You’ll learn how to ride faster, how to slow down and stop, how to turn left and right, how to shift your weight to uphill and downhill movement and other important factors that go into riding a horse. These horses are well trained and you won’t have any problems at all.

At first I was thinking this would be easy. But when I got on top the horse it took about 15 minutes for me to not feel like I was just going to fall off.

I really didn’t expect us to ride through the literal jungle, through rivers and at the edge of cliffs with these horses. But they were so good at doing this trail that I felt safe and confident in the horse’s decisions of where to step and which path to take.

Birdwatching and Wildlife

Rio Cuarto is on the edge of several ecological zones and this creates very rich biodiversity. Birdwatching is one of the best things to do in Rio Cuarto. Toucans, motmots, parrots, and trogons are common to see. The forests and rivers also make it easy to spot sloths, armadillos, agoutis, and monkeys.

Local fincas or farms often allow visitors to walk on their land with permission. The early morning hours between 5 and 8 a.m. are the best time to see birds when they are most active. Bring binoculars, move quietly, and watch the treetops and river edges.

If you want a more structured experience, drive to Refugio de Vida Silvestre Bosque Alegre about 20 minutes from town. This small wildlife refuge protects several crater lakes and a patch of dense tropical rainforest that is home to rare frogs and orchids.

Swimming in Hidden Rivers

The rivers around Rio Cuarto are clean and clear. Small local swimming holes are scattered through the countryside, often where the road crosses a stream. These are places where locals gather on weekends to chill and have a good time and travelers can to.

One especially beautiful spot is the Río Toro, which runs through rocky gorges north of town. The water here is cold and fast, with deep pools between small rapids. It’s a quiet place during the week and ideal if you want to escape the heat for a while.

Because these sites are natural and unmarked, most of the times you will have to speak to people at your hotel or other locals. They are usually happy to point you toward their favorite places if you speak a bit of Spanish and show respect for the land. But, we didn’t need to speak any Spanish to communicate, as most people spoke English very well.

Visit Coffee and Dairy Farms

Costa Rica is known for having some of the best coffee in the world. Even on our tiny eco lodge there was coffee and cocoa growing. Rio Cuarto is mainly about agriculture. It makes up most of what people do here for work and going on a tour can give you more insight into how the locals live.

Small Coffee farms usually always welcome visitors. They show you the full process of making a cup of coffee and you get to sample the freshest and best coffee in the world. From November through February are the active months for the farming of coffee. It is freshly picked at this time.

There are also many dairy farms run by families that produce fresh milk, cheese, yogurt and sell it at local markets. These are hardly formal tourists attractions by any means. But, if it’s something interesting to you, have at it.

Day Trips to local towns

Rio Cuarto sits in the middle of several interesting regions, making it a good base for exploring northern Costa Rica. About 45 minutes northeast is La Fortuna, the gateway to Arenal Volcano. La Fortuna has hot springs, hanging bridges, and adventure sports. It’s busier and more tourist-oriented than Rio Cuarto, but worth a day trip if you rented a car and can get there easily.

To the west you have Poás Volcano National Park, about an hour and a half away. The park protects one of the world’s largest active craters, and you can drive almost to the rim. Early mornings are best because clouds often cover the crater by late morning and there are less crowds.

South of Rio Cuarto, the road climbs into the cloud forests of Juan Castro Blanco National Park. This remote park has rugged trails, waterfalls, and almost no crowds. It’s one of the least visited national parks in Costa Rica, and its highland forests are home to tapirs, quetzals, and rare orchids. This is one of my favorite places because of how few tourists it sees usually and I hate crowds.

FAQ about Rio Cuarto Costa Rica