Rio Celeste y Los Teñideros: Our most recommended tours and activities

From La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full-Day Tour

1. From La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full-Day Tour

Start your full-day tour with a scenic drive from La Fortuna to the Tenorio Volcano National Park. Head out on a 4-hour hike that will take some effort but is definitely worth it. At the end of the hike you’ll have reached the Rio Celeste. The river’s blue color is the result of a chemical reaction between 2 merging rivers having different volcanic minerals. This rare phenomenon creates a fairy tale-like beauty. Visit a waterfall and a lookout point for great views and see the place where the river changes color. Your guide will point out local wildlife on this adventure as well. After your hike, enjoy a delicious lunch before the drive back to La Fortuna.

Rio Celeste: Tubing Tour with Snacks and Drinks

2. Rio Celeste: Tubing Tour with Snacks and Drinks

Expereince the rush of spilling over the rapids of the turquoise Celeste River on this tubing tour in Katira. Spot colorful birds, monkeys, and frogs as you float safely along with the provided safety helmet and life vest. Refuel with some delicious fruit and drinks that are included in the tour.  Meet your guide and get set up with your well-maintained tubing gear. Set off down the river through dense jungle over the blue water. Keep an eye out for local birds like toucans, bear-necked umbrella birds, woodpeckers, and hummingbirds.  Awaken your inner adrenaline junkie as you glide over rapids on this family-friendly adventure. Relax and get some incredible photos of this area that is just outside the Tenorio National Park. 

La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Hike and Don Alexis Farm

3. La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Hike and Don Alexis Farm

Discover one of the hidden mysteries of Costa Rica tucked away, close to Tenorio Volcano National Park. Go on a 4-hour hike through the beautiful rainforest. Along the way, visit the lagoon and Los Teñideros, where two streams with different minerals and chemical compositions meet and change color to form a heavenly turquoise blue. The last stop of the day is at the magnificent Rio Celeste Waterfall. A short hike will bring you back for lunch at the Don Alexis Farm, where you can swim in the river and refresh after this great day.

La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full Day Tour

4. La Fortuna: Rio Celeste Full Day Tour

Discover one of the hidden mysteries of Costa Rica tucked next to the Tenorio´s Volcano. We will take a 4 hours hike through the beautiful rainforest. Along the way, we will visit the Los Teñideros, a magical place where two streams with different minerals and chemical composition meet and change the water to a heavenly turquoise blue color. At the last stop we will enjoy the magnificent Rio Celeste Waterfall. After the national park we will stop for a picture with our giant ARBOL DE LA PAZ. Once on the way we will have a delicious costarican lunch, after we will hike trought the farm to check cacao, pineaple, corn, banana and many more plantations to finish enjoing a pristine pool in the Rio Celeste to swim. After this relaxing time we are ready to come back to La Fortuna.

Rio Celeste Hike & Sloths Wild Life

5. Rio Celeste Hike & Sloths Wild Life

Hike through the tropical rain forest and discover many picture-perfect sights along the way. Visit “Los Teñideros”, see the volcano's furnace vents, the magnificent Rio Celeste waterfall, and 2 species of sloths at the Sloth Sanctuary. Once at Tenorio Volcano National Park, your guide will give a short introduction, and then the hike starts going through the tropical rain forest, where fauna and flora are plentiful. During the hike, visit “Los Teñideros”, where two streams of crystalline water come together and form the astonishing blue color that gives the river its name. Come by the volcano’s furnace vents that expel gases of extremely high temperatures, and get the chance to take a dip in the natural hot springs. See the spectacular Rio Celeste waterfall. Head to the Sloths Sanctuary, where you will see 2 different species of sloths and wildlife in their natural habitat. The final reward will be an exquisite traditional meal at the end of your journey.

Sloth Tour and Rain Forest hike to see Rio Celeste Waterfall

6. Sloth Tour and Rain Forest hike to see Rio Celeste Waterfall

This tour is the best way to see the rain forest, sloths and more wildlife. The waterfall is a sky blue color waterfall which you can access by walking through the rainforest. In addition to the hike through the rainforest to see the Rio Celeste waterfall, we will also have access to a butterfly farm that is included with the typical lunch that we will have at the end of the tour. Morpho butterflies will surprise you with their beautiful blue color. Sloths, butterflies, toucans, frogs, monkeys and other wildlife as well as hike through the rainforest to see the Rio Celeste Waterfall will make this tour one of the best experiences you can have.

Katira: Adventure Tubing and Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

7. Katira: Adventure Tubing and Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica, our guided tour is incredible, fun together with our famous tubing tour, an adventure through the river with rapids, adrenaline, pools of water for swimming. It is an adventure that you cannot miss when you visit Costa Rica.

Katira: Adventure Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

8. Katira: Adventure Zipline Tour in Rio Celeste

The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica. The best combo tour in Costa Rica, fantastic zip line adventure in Rio Celeste, the only adventure of its kind in the area. It is a special tour, with 7 lines and from the heights you can observe the majestic river, fauna such as birds, sloths and endemic trees of Costa Rica

Tamarindo: Celeste River and Llanos de Cortez Waterfall

9. Tamarindo: Celeste River and Llanos de Cortez Waterfall

Embark on an adventure and discover sloths, beautiful waterfalls, and a true bluewater river. Start off with a hike through Tenorio Volcano National Park and discover the rainforest in a 2 hour easy to moderate hike.  Marvel at the Celeste River, one of the most popular rivers in Costa Rica, well known around the world by its particular natural color from light blue to turquoise.  In addition to the stunning beauty of the water, the river also has several thermal hot springs and boiling mud pots. Plumes of volcanic gases are expelled and in some places give the appearance of boiling water. Visit a 98-foot waterfall and take in the stunning atmosphere.  After your swim, a small hike leads you to the place where sloths are at a very low height in their natural environment, as well as toucans and red-eyed leaf frogs.  Enjoy a country-style Costa Rican lunch with salad, rice, beans, and options for meat, chicken, or fish. On your way to one of Costa Rica's most beautiful waterfalls, the Llanos de Cortez waterfalls with a 65-foot height and 49-foot width drop into a tranquil pond with a white sandy beach, that's perfect for swimming and sunbathing.

Río Celeste National Park Hike

10. Río Celeste National Park Hike

Once we arrive to the Río Celeste National Park, you may use the facilities to get ready and look at the information booth provided by the Río Celeste National Park. We will then begin a hike through the dense, lush, tropical rainforest that surrounds the Río Celeste National Park. The hike is approximately 3-miles long and considered intermediate. You and your naturalist guide go at your own pace and you'll learn interesting things about the rainforest along the way. We then arrive to "Los Teñíderos" where two rivers come together to form the celestial, turquoise blue water color that gives the waterfall its name "Celeste." We'll return, walking back through the Rio Celeste National Park to the "Ollas" -- or mud baths -- and take a moment to relax in the natural hot springs. For the grand finale, we then walk-on further to see the spectacular Río Celeste waterfall - the perfect place to take photos. We finish off with a delicious lunch at a local restaurant and then head back to La Fortuna. Please note: the Río Celeste waterfall may lose its blue color during rainstorms. Our policy is to advise clients the day of the tour if it is raining in the area and offer the tour for the following day, should clients want to postpone or change to a different tour. No refunds for inclement weather.

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Rio Celeste y Los Teñideros

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What people are saying about Rio Celeste y Los Teñideros

Overall rating

4.7 / 5

based on 85 reviews

Had a wonderful time exploring Rio Celeste on this tour! The hike was a good workout (3.5+ mi with a lot of stairs down/up to the waterfall), which I really enjoyed. Mario was an awesome, energetic guide who made the experience fun. Rio Celeste is a must-see in Costa Rica - would highly recommend this tour esp if you’re a solo traveler!

Our guide, Christian, was excellent! He was extremely knowledgeable and could spot hidden wildlife easily. He was funny and made our hike bearable, as it heavily rained midway through our tour. He showed us the best spots for photographs, and served as our photographer! We also ate a delicious local lunch! I highly recommend this tour.

LOVED this park! Our guide was great, she allowed us the time to enjoy the details of the jungle, while still making sure we made it all the way out and back in time! Definitely recommend going to Rio Celeste, and this tour was a wonderful way to see it!

I definitely recommend this trip. Santiago was super nice, knowledgeable and made sure everyone had a great time. Rio Celeste was very beautiful. Swimming in the river was great and even the food was very tasty. All in all a perfect tour.

It was a really nice tour! The water was not so blue because of the rain and clouds but it was still very enjoyable. Our guide showed us two snakes, a frog, caterpillar, monkeys and many plants that smelled and tasted amazing!