Rappelling through 6 Waterfalls and Eating the Best Homemade Ice Cream in Costa Rica

One of our favorite non-river spots in Costa Rica is just outside of Turrialba, about 20 minutes from our headquarters. It’s a place called Sitio Mata.

This amazing spot sits on the hillside overlooking the reservoir and is right above Walter’s home and neighborhood where he grew up.

A Sitio Mata excursion typically includes hiking about a quarter mile up the hill and then dropping down into the stream where you rappel down 6 separate waterfalls and hiking through ankle to waist deep water.

For those who have a background in rock climbing and are curious about the setup, there are set anchors at the top of each waterfall along with a backup anchor. All of the guides that take people on this excursion have received special training and certifications as well.

The excursion takes anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how quickly your group is moving. This activity is for anyone age 8 to 84. (Our oldest person to do this excursion with us was 84 years old!)

Typically at the end of the excursion we typically do one of two things…

#1: We do a tour of one of the family organic farms on the hike out of the river and help them pick fruits and vegetables that we bring back to their house, and then spend the afternoon with them learning to cook authentic Costa Rica food and hanging out their family. This family has an incredible deck on looking out at the valley below and often do tours for the area University because they have been an example of how to do Organic farming. This is a favorite of anyone looking for a real cultural experience. We’re certain you’ll feel like family by the end of the day.

or…

#2: We stop at our favorite secret restaurants for lunch. Yes its secret and there is a reason we’re keeping it a secret if you know what we mean. 🙂 This place has the best views and sits right on the hillside looking over the lake. It started as a family who had one table to serve people at and now they have an entire viewing deck and over a dozen tables. People drive over an two hours on weekends to come eat lunch at this place. It’s traditional “Mom/Grandma’s style” Costa Rican food that people talk about when they are looking for that “nastalgia” meal. Their food really is incredible and we’re pretty certain their homemade ice cream is the best in Costa Rica. Seriously… their ice cream might actually be worth the price of a plane ticket to come and try. It really is that good.

Whatever your goals are for a Costa Rica trip, we’d love to help you plan it out and help take care of your logistics, lodging and excursions.

Pura Vida!