Colinegrito - La Pastora, Turrialba
- Dakota B.
- Nov 7, 2019
- 3 min read
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
This was the mantra that allowed me, along with my volunteer buddy Bethany, to finally get to the foot of this hidden behemoth.
After having seen what looked like another waterfall on Google Maps in Satellite mode, I tried quite a few different times to get to this hidden gem of a waterfall.
It was bordering on the frustrating, until one day on the University of Costa Rica's Atlantic Campus in Turrialba. I was attending the screening of a short documentary about the need for public action to help protect the local rivers by opposing the construction of privatized hydroelectric dams in the region, and I happened to run into one of the leaders of a local group called Descubre Turrialba.
Alberto and I exchanged information, and I took the chance to ask him about this supposed-waterfall just east of La Pastora that I'd see a few times on Google Maps but had yet to find any real info on. He was kind enough to explain in great detail how to get there, and I felt ready to get after it.
After my volunteer buddy Bethany agreed to join me, we planned on a day and made our way north on the bus out of Turrialba, getting off at La Pastora and walking toward the entrance that Alberto mentioned. Crossing through the expansive cattle field, we saw a small opening toward the back, butting up against a sheer mountainside that I was excited to get to. I had visions of a monster waterfall and was in a hurry to see her for the first time.
Except she wasn't there. I pulled out my phone, pinged our location, and saw on the satellite view that we were actually nowhere near the supposed waterfall. As far as I could tell, she was muuuuuch further up the mountainside, but we couldn't find any real access point. All we could see was a tiny little mini-waterfall of no more than 15 meters that barely trickled into the stream below.
Taking a closer look at the satellite view, I realized that we still had quite a hike to get to the elusive cascade we'd set out to see. After a little light bushwhacking further to the left and up the mountainside, we eventually found a primitive path and wound up above the little 15-footer, in the main riverbed. Climbing over boulders and continuing up the carved out valley, we finally turned the corner and looked up to see her.
Colinegrito. From the satellite images, I had not been able to get a really good idea for exactly how tall she was. Considering the other nearby waterfalls I had seen, I was expecting something in the area of 40-50 meters tall. I was, however, suuuuuuper surprised to see this 90-meter absolute unit of a waterfall.
Bethany and I were both blown away. Although we'd made the hike in late January - at the height of the dry season - there was still plenty of water flowing. We high-fived and set down our packs. Being that Colinegrito is found high up in the mountains, some 1,900 meters (6,200 feet) above sea level, the water was not warm by any stretch of the imagination. We still enjoyed it in all of its glory - and I even took a moment to climb up behind the falls for a little more footage on the GoPro.
If you're looking for a very remote hike to a lesser-known yet worthwhile waterfall, I can't recommend enough that you take a trip to Colinegrito!
Colinegrito Waterfall Info
Difficulty: Moderate
Location: La Pastora, Turrialba, Cartago, CR
GPS Coordinates: 9.956687, -83.779743
Height: approx. 90 meters / 295 feet
Nearest bus fare: Turrialba to La Pastora, 605 CRC
Entry fee: N/A
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