Río Celeste is a river in Tenorio Volcano National Park that runs a pale, milky blue. This guide is for you if you are in La Fortuna and want to see it. It covers what to sort out before the day: the ticket, the month, the state of the trail, the rules on swimming and what to wear for a walk that is usually muddy.
Buy the ticket before anything else
This is the one step you cannot leave to the day. Since August 2023 the park has sold entry only in advance, online, through the national parks service. There is no ticket office at the gate. When you buy, you choose an entry slot. The slots run through the morning and into the early afternoon, and the park closes its last entry in the early afternoon too.
We are collected at 07:00 and reach the park at about 08:30, so book the 08:30 slot. The early start pays off: you walk the first stretch while it is still cool and quiet, and the rest of the day is not rushed.
Keep the confirmation on your phone. Slots and booking rules can change, so check the official site before you go.
Why it is blue, and when it is not
Two clear streams meet inside the park, the Buena Vista river and the Quebrada Agria. At the meeting point, called El Teñidero, a change in the tiny mineral particles in the water makes them scatter light, and the river turns blue from there downstream. On the trail you can stand at the confluence and see the line where one colour becomes the other.
The colour is at its strongest in the dry season, from December to April. Heavy rain churns up sediment and can turn the river cloudy or even brown at any time of year. The park gets up to 3,500 millimetres of rain a year, so a blue river is likely but never certain. If it has poured the night before, the waterfall will still be there, and the lagoon and the bubbling springs are worth the walk, but the blue may be faint.
How the day fits together
The drive is about an hour and a half each way, through farmland towards the Tenorio volcano. Most of the day is on foot. The trail runs about 7 kilometres there and back, and takes around three hours. The waterfall comes first, roughly 1.5 kilometres from the ranger station, down a long stairway that is open only to its halfway point. After it the trail goes on past the blue lagoon and the Borbollones, where hot volcanic gas makes the water bubble, to El Teñidero, about an hour from the park entrance.
Lunch is in one of the small family places near the park. Then comes the part many people like best: a swim. Swimming is not allowed inside the park, including at the lagoon, but there is a public spot on the river just outside the entrance. Parking there is not included.
You are back in La Fortuna in the afternoon. Because the vehicle is yours, the lunch stop and the swim can move. If the rain comes in early, you can skip the river and head back sooner.
The state of the trail
Heavy rain does more than change the colour. After branches brought down by heavy rain closed the park in May 2025, the stairway to the waterfall reopened only as far as its halfway point, once government geologists had checked it, and since June 2025 it has been open only that far. Visitors must leave at once if heavy rain sets in.
Conditions change from season to season, so check whether the lower stairway has reopened when you visit. We check the park's notices the day before, and tell you if anything is closed. Expect mud on most of the path whatever the month.
On your own or with a driver
Most visitors come by car. Some guesthouses near the park have their own paths of a mile or two down to the river, so a night nearby is one way to see it without driving, though those paths can close in bad weather.
A private day gives you the drive there and back, a driver who waits through the three hours on the trail, and the flexibility to add or drop the swim. The park ticket, a guide and lunch are not included. The price depends on the size of your group; see it on the tour page.
What to bring
- Your online ticket confirmation.
- Shoes or boots with a deep tread. The path is often muddy, and the stairway is slippery when wet.
- A rain jacket, and a dry change of clothes to leave in the vehicle.
- Swimwear and a towel for the river outside the park.
- Insect repellent, water and a snack for the trail.
- Local cash or a card for lunch and the parking at the swimming spot.
Who it suits, and who should think twice
It suits walkers who are happy with three hours on a forest path and a long flight of steps. Children who walk well can manage it, and the bubbling springs and the swim give them something to look forward to.
- Bad knees or limited mobility. The stairway to the waterfall, down and back up, is the hard part. You can skip it and carry on along the trail to the lagoon and El Teñidero.
- Only one day in La Fortuna. Most people spend it on the waterfall, hanging bridges and volcano, which are all close to town. Río Celeste is a second-day trip.
- Travelling in the wettest months. The river may lose its colour. Keep the day flexible; we check the park's notices the day before.
Our guide to day trips from La Fortuna compares this with our other days out.
Questions people ask
Can we buy tickets at the entrance?
No. Tickets are sold only online, in advance, for a chosen entry slot.
Can we swim in the blue water?
Not inside the park. The public spot on the river just outside the entrance is where people swim, and we stop there after lunch.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Cancel up to 24 hours before pick-up and you are refunded in full. Your park ticket is a separate purchase from the parks service, with its own rules. See our cancellation page.
Booking the day
Book the 08:30 entry slot first, choose a drier month if you can, and pack for mud. The pick-up, timings and what is included are on the Río Celeste and Tenorio Volcano National Park private day trip page, where you choose the size of your group and book.
