We were willing to do Mulguri Waterfalls tour because of the Trip Advisor reviews and recommendations of the front desk staff. The tour guide name Ivan or Batí as he prefers to be named took us into a 4wd Landcruiser Toyota. He is so friendly and laid back person, he was born and raised in Quepos the local town of Manuel Antonio. We pass thru local villages, the names of the three local villages are: Naranjito, Londres (Yes there is a town called London in Costa Rica) and Quebrada Arroyo which is the town where the waterfalls are located.
The ride was like 1hour 15 minutes from Hotel San Bada.
The road gets you into rainforest where you can spot a lot of trees, variety wildlife in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle. Also during the ride there is many water streams. When we were getting closer to the waterfalls we discover the village of Quebrada Arroyo. This place has the three elements of any Costa Rican village: church, school and a soccer field. Few families lives here, their main income source is tourism. You can visit their website for more information
Our tour guide Bati took us to the first ranch to have a quick look of the beautiful views of the mountains. He drove us down to the last stop for the car and where the hiking trails starts. When we arrived at this point our first reaction was Wow! We were amazed about the sound of the waterfalls and the forest. The first hiking trails took us to the hanging bridge, Bati told us the security instructions before we got on the bridge. The hanging bridge offers a view to Savegre River, spot the waterfalls and be at a treetop level.
After crossing the bridge Bati asked us if we want to discover the waterfalls down by the river and we confirmed our willing to discover them. It was a nice walk going down to the waterfalls nearby the river. The name of the river is Savegre, this is one of the cleanest rivers in Central America. Sometimes this last waterfall receives visit from white water rafting tour companies because the access by the river and the water streams from the waterfalls (water streams same as beaches are public only their access can be private if you need to access them from a private property)
We got back to the upper waterfalls taking the same trail that we took going down. There is an amazing spot for taking pictures of the waterfalls. We really enjoyed being in the middle of the rainforest with waterfalls.
Bati took us to another waterfall where he told us it was perfect to enjoy a swim this waterfall was the smallest. From this one you can see the hanging bridge that feels that is up on the sky.
In total we enjoyed a variety of 5 waterfalls in Mulguri all of them are different. After spending a great time at the waterfalls Bati told us one of the best part of the tour was coming, we were surprised because we were guessing what was the surprise.
He drove us departing the beautiful waterfalls to a local house. Bati told us this is the place where we are going to have lunch. We received a warm welcome from the family owner of the house, the house of Juanita and Miguel. The house is made of wood with Costa Rican architecture. Juanita made us the most delicious Costa Rican lunch we ever taste in our lifes, she cooked the lunch with woodfire, also she showed us how to make traditional tortillas. The family was so happy to see us, after the lunch we had coffee.
We finished having lunch and Bati told us that it was time to get back to the hotel, we were so happy because of the Mulguri Waterfalls experience because it combines waterfalls in the middle of the jungle plus you can feel the authentic Costa Rican culture in a place with few tourists (we were the only ones at the Mulguri Waterfalls property because they have the exclusive access)
This is the best activity we recommend doing while you are staying at Manuel Antonio.