Hiking at Los Campesinos Ecolodge

Usually, all hikes I do are near a town. This time, I went to do a hike almost in the middle of nowhere. This time, I visited Los Campesinos Ecolodge, a place deep in the mountains of the Central Pacific of Costa Rica. A place entirely rounded by nature that I will never forget.

What is Los Campesinos Ecolodge?

This is a sustainable touristic complex located in Quebrada Arroyo village, where less than 50 people live. Los Campesinos Ecolodge is a place entirely rounded by nature. This is why all families from Quebrada Arroyo decided to create a place to share with the world.

Here you will be able to find several trails in perfect shape, two long hanging bridges, several natural pools, and three to four waterfalls. One of the waterfalls was massive, and you could see it from one of the hanging bridges above.

Related Post: Cloud Forest Hike at Iyok Ami

This place also has viewpoints, a delicious restaurant, and they also created around 15 small cabins. So you can stay here and enjoy one night immersed in nature.

When I visited this place, it was during the day, so I can’t tell you how comfortable the cabins are, but they do have the basic things you will need. I can only imagine how beautiful it could be to see the stars from this place (really, there is nothing close! So I can guarantee a good view at night).

How to get to Los Campesinos Ecolodge?

Los Campesinos Ecolodge is located in Puntarenas Province, just one hour away from Quepos/Manuel Antonio area. To get to this place, take road 34 or Carretera Pacifica Fernandez Oreamuno (also called Costanera Sur). After you pass the entrance to Quepos, deviate at road 616. Road 616 road takes you to Naranjito and Londres, the two closest towns from Los Campesinos Ecolodge.

After you pass Naranjito and Londres, you will start driving on a dirt road. Thirty minutes later, you will reach Los Campesinos Ecolodge. When we arrived, they told us sedan cars had reached the place in the past. But they don’t recommend this. So, hopefully, you will have at least a CUV.

Since it was dry season when I went there, it wasn’t necessary to go with a 4WD car. But since it’s a dirt road during the rainy season (May-October), it’s better to go with a 4WD vehicle. If you don’t have a car, they offer shuttle services from Playa Hermosa, Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Dominical, and Uvita.

If you are less old school and need the Google Maps location (I do too), click here –> Los Campesinos Ecolodge location. 

Why should you visit Los Campesinos Ecolodge?

When I visited this place, I was around Manuel Antonio with my family, taking advantage of the dry season’s sunny days. I already had tickets for Manuel Antonio National Park for Sunday, so I was looking for something to do on Saturday.

I thought about going to Dominical or Uvita (Bahía Ballena) south from Manuel Antonio, but I had been there before, and I was looking more for a hike. So, I went to my Google Maps, which has many dropped pins of places I want to visit in Costa Rica. That’s when I noticed a pin north from Manuel Antonio, deep in the mountains.

We started gathering more information about this place, and the combination of hanging bridges and waterfalls/natural pools convinced me to go there! After contacting the site on their Whatsapp (+506 87050395) I booked our tickets for Saturday.

Once we finally arrived at Los Campesinos Ecolodge, we saw a small shack with a sign that said “Los Campesinos”. This was the reception of Los Campesinos Ecolodge. We paid 7,000 colones each (around $11) for the day pass and lunch package (the packages could change from one day to another).

After we paid, we entered the property and parked the car. Then we met Victor, one of the owners of the touristic complex.

General information:

Victor told us everything we needed to know before we started our hike. He showed us a map and told us that there were three main trails.

There was a 3o minute trail that included one hanging bridge. Another 30 minutes trail had the longest hanging bridge, one waterfall, and around three natural pools. And the main trail was about 25 minutes walk, but it was the one where you would stay the longest since it had the best natural pool.

The difficulty of all trails was low. Almost anybody could do them so I would recommend this place for families with kids.

Victor also told us that they offer longer guided tours that you could do by walking or riding a horse. These trails were longer, almost around 3 hours, depending on the tour. So, whether you want to do a long walk or not, there are options for everything.

The hanging bridges

We started our walk in the trail with the shortest hanging bridge. This hanging bridge was different from the ones I was used to, they were narrower, but they felt secure. This first trail was perfect for warming up by starting to enjoy the nature around this place.

When we finished this trail, we went to the longest-hanging bridge. This hanging bridge was awe-inspiring since it was high and there are natural pools below it. There is also a massive waterfall at the side of the hanging bridge. This waterfall isn’t so impressive during the dry season, but during the rainy season, it is!

At the other end of the bridge, there are some natural pools and a restroom. So, put your swimsuit on and start enjoying the natural pools. The river’s flow fills these natural pools, so, during the dry season (November-April) they might not be so fun as the other ones.

Enjoying the natural pools and waterfalls

After we made the first two trails, it was starting to get warm. It was time to enjoy the natural pools! We decided to go to the main natural pool, located close to the cabins you can stay for the night. Just walk for 10 minutes, and you’ll arrive at the bottom of the main waterfall you saw from the hanging bridge.

When we arrived, there were just a couple of families. They left 20 minutes after we arrived, so we had that natural pool and waterfalls for ourselves! We stayed there for more than an hour. Swimming, jumping from the rocks to the natural pool, and taking fantastic photos with the waterfalls.

This natural pool will always have a lot of water since this water comes from an aquifer mantel. So it’s the best option for a refreshing swim during the dry season.

After enjoying a nice hike, a good time swimming in natural pools, and having a good lunch, it was time to go. We headed back to Manuel Antonio, but we promised ourselves we would come back and stay for a night!

Los Campesinos Ecolodge Recap:

• Location: Quebrada, Arroyo. (Drive there)
• Difficulty: Easy
• Access: SUV/CUV
• Contact: +506 8705-0395 or +506 8975-4285 (Victor)
• Cost: 5,000 colones ($8) single entrance.
• Parking: Yes
• More info about the place: Los Campesinos Ecolodge
• Hidden Gem Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️