Rio Lajas blog 6Montezuma and the Southern Nicoya Peninsula is teaming with waterfalls. One of the least known, but truly amazing waterfall hikes, is Rio Lajas. Located just 5 km from Mariposario Montezuma Gardens on the road to Cabuya is where you will find this amazing river.  There is no designated trail to walk on so you have to trek through the water. Although it is not a difficult hike you do need a good pair of water shoes. The river is not deep but has many “pockets” or pools of water that can be up to 5 feet deep and ranges from deep blues to aqua green in color.Perfect for taking a dip as you meander up the river.  Rio Lajas is full of wildlife! You almost always see howler monkeys, white face monkeys, Egret birds, blue herons and tiger herons. If you are lucky you may see one of three different species of fresh water shrimpRio Lajas blog 5 or maybe even a Jesus Christ lizard. The hike takes about 1.5 hours each way so make sure to take a small snack and plenty of water. Since I own and operate a butterfly garden I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of blue morphos flying up the river. I started paying attention to the vegetation and noticed that there are numerous host plants for this butterfly. These being the Almendro de Montana and Sangrillo trees. Both excellent hardwoods and protected in Costa Rica, they are also a favorite food for the howler monkeys. Eventually you will come to a fork in the river. You will want to take the right in the fork and about 20 minutes later you will come to the first waterfall. The swimming hole is beautiful and deep. Swim across and climb up the waterfall and about 15 minutes later you will reach the 100 ft waterfall. This waterfall is more of  a giant slide than a vertical fall but is truly amazing. Here you will find a couple of different pools that you can swim in. So come visit us while on your Costa Rica vacation at the butterfly garden in Montezuma and take advantage of one of the most amazing rivers in the world!Rio Lajas blog 7