Conditions:Ciudad Esmeralda (aka La Vieja)-20191116221023

Latest:	16 Nov 2019 (5 yrs, 6 mos ago)

Reported by:	Felixrulz (76 reports), Fernando (21 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Moderate
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	5 hours

Team: 2 people

Trip report URL: https://canyoningcat.travel.blog/2019/11/16/ciudad-esmeralda-ciudad-quesada-costa-rica/

Comments:

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
3 Mar 2025	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	6 people	Treyshoe (31 reports)
Comment: Lovely long rappels in the flow (not that common in the Poas region it seems). The walk out through the canyon is verdant and beautiful. It was 3000 colones to enter and $10 American to park at the exit.
17 Mar 2024	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Morban (5 reports)
Comment: Dropped my team off at the farm and parked at La Vieja. The price is 10$ per person and they drove me up to the start. The farm charges 2000 colones per person and it's a pretty easy hike down to the first rappel. We got stuck behind a commercial rappelling tour for about 2 hours on the second rappel hence the longer time. The rappels are nice but most of our time was spent walking around the bottom and enjoying the views.
25 Feb 2024	Good	Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	7 people	Desertnights (37 reports)
Comment: It's $10/person and 2000 colons person to park. The 6 pack doesn't work anymore. Exit at the ladders. They la vieja adventures guys are on Facebook. They're responsive and easy to contact. We stuck a rope on the last rappel.
14 Mar 2023	Good	Moderate		Normal	3 hours	6 people Intermediate to Advanced	Coops (121 reports)
Comment: What a beautiful canyon! The approach is downhill and straight forward, the two rappels big and fun, and the exit very impressive. Time includes exploring upstream of the final rap, and messing around in the pool.
2 Feb 2023	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	3 people Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports),Donwolfkonecny (9 reports)
Comment: Definitely not an efficient trip at 4.5h. We could've done it in half that, but met up with a friend who was hiking up from the bottom and hiked back up, then back down. Ciudad Esmeralda was beautiful! The raps didn't add much to the beauty of the canyon, but made it a one-way trip (and was way cheaper than the guided up-and-back trip).
2 Mar 2021	Great	Low	Thin wetsuit	Easy	4 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Michelle (60 reports)
Comment: A beautiful day for a beautiful canyon. Was pleasantly surprised at the first two rappels to enter the canyon -- expected them to be down a dry hillside but they were two great waterfall rappels. Gave the first dairy farm owner a cold six pack of beer and he couldn't stop smiling. At the exit, asked if we could pay them to give one of us a ride on their motorbike back to our car, which they did for 5k colones ($8). The canyon itself was free of any garbage thrown from the bridge, and the water was on the low side. The rocks were slippery and by the end were happy to reach the exit and hike up and out.
16 Nov 2019 Trip report	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	2 people	Felixrulz (76 reports),Fernando (21 reports)