We had just gotten back from a grocery run in preparation for our scheduled Volcan Baru sunrise hike when we heard a knock at the door. We looked at each other, wondering who it could possibly be in a town where we knew nobody and opened the door cautiously to find our Airbnb host, Maria, standing there with another woman. “Hello,” we answered, “What’s up?” They cut right to the chase and asked us what we were planning on doing for our week in Boquete. We assured them that we had a ton of plans! Why, just that very night we were off to meet some friends to hike Volcan Baru to see the sunrise on its peak. They looked at us with sad eyes, and said, “Have you heard? All of the national parks have been closed due to the spread of coronavirus…. But I think the local trails are open, so you can go to the Lost Waterfalls hike.”
Just like that, our plans for our last full day in Boquete had changed, and we were off to chase some waterfalls.
HOW TO GET THERE
- Take a colectivo van (one of the white vans which run throughout the area) from the stop in Bajo Boquete. It doesn’t have any clear markings, but it’s right across from the “Mandarin” grocery store and there will usually be a group of people waiting around. The price is $2/person to get to the “Bajo Mono” area. OR, if you have a group of 3 or more, taxis are only $8 for a one-way trip. Tell the driver you’d like to go to the “Bajo Mono” area. With our group of four (us, plus two German girls we had met through the Couchsurfing app), this was the option we opted for.
- Whichever option you go with, you will head up into the Boquete highlands, past the climbing wall, over a suspension bridge, and continue on a one-lane road that leads you into a clearing with a bunch of trailheads. If you’re like us, you’ll be tempted to go towards the “Cascada Escondida” (Hidden Waterfall) sign…. But unless you want to hike the Pipeline Trail or the Queztal Trail, don’t do it!!! Instead, walk out of the clearing and you’ll see a sign that says “Three Lost Waterfalls” which points towards a massive hill. Head that way.
- Walk (or take a taxi), up the hill for about 1.5KM. It’s steep, but at least it’s beautiful and you’ll feel as if the hike has already started! Eventually you’ll reach a group of signs. Follow the blue wooden one that reads “Three Lost Waterfalls” which takes you down a short hill and across a river on a shaky suspension bridge.
- Finally, after climbing a steep hill for 10-20 minutes, you’ll reach a beautiful, groomed clearing full of flowers that has breathtaking views of the valley. You’ll also see a cabin with an attendant ready to collect your $8 entrance fee (I know, expensive. But worth it.) Pay the attendant and be on your way.
From here, the hike is incredibly straightforward. There are arrow signs clearly marking the trail so it’s almost impossible to get lost. The section before the first waterfall is a steep, but short, ascent into the jungle, followed by a steep descent to a viewing point. Here are some photos:
This is the one waterfall you can’t play under, so we only stopped for about ten minutes before climbing back up the trail from whence we came and continuing on to waterfall #2. This part of the trail is a bit steeper and slicker, so make sure you have some shoes with traction! However, it’s pretty short so after another 30-45 minutes of hiking, we found ourselves at beautiful waterfall #2.
We went on in and splashed around, shaking from both happiness and a bit of hypothermia.
After we had enough of the freezing water and beautiful views, it was time to take on the real challenge of the trek, the trail to waterfall #3. I wouldn’t say this part is any more physically demanding than the previous two trails, but it is much more slippery and technical, with sections where we clung to ropes and slid down steep descents on our butts, doing our best not to fall off the cliffs into the abyss below.
However, it was all worth it when we saw the beautiful waterfall #3:
After we had played around to our heart’s content, it was time to return.
Although we were a bit concerned about how we were going to get back to Boquete, we were quickly picked up by a colectivo en route to town and were back at the door of our Airbnb within 20 minutes of finishing the hike. Overall, the hike took about four hours, and we were able to complete it comfortably in the same day as the Pipeline Trail.
All in all the Lost Waterfalls was an amazing, fun, and relatively easy-to-find adventure that is a must-do for the area!