Reminder: There are two entrances to Nauyaca Waterfalls, but only one Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park 
.
Don’t get confused—make sure you arrive at the right place!
How to get there? Follow your preferred map link:
From Quepos
Reminder: There are two entrances to Nauyaca Waterfalls, but only one Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park .
Don’t get confused—make sure you arrive at the right place!
How to get there? Follow your preferred map link:
Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash
When the dry season arrives on Costa Rica's South Pacific coast, everything shifts. The sun burns brighter, the trails turn dusty, and in natural areas like Nauyaca Waterfall Nature Park, the air fills with one unmistakable sound: the relentless song of cicadas.
Cicadas are tropical insects known for their loud, persistent call. Unlike most insects that go unnoticed, cicadas make themselves impossible to ignore. Their signature “song” is not actually a voice, but a rapid vibration of specialized organs called tymbals located on the abdomen. Males produce this sound to attract mates, and in the warm, dry conditions of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, they reach their peak intensity.
The dry season typically runs from December through April. These months create the ideal conditions for cicadas to emerge in full force:
🌡️ Higher temperatures
Many visitors say the sound stays with them long after they leave the trail. It is the forest telling you it is alive.
A hike to the Nauyaca waterfalls is not just a visual experience. It is also a deeply immersive sonic one. The cicada song fills the forest with a presence that is hard to describe until you have heard it yourself:
Rising and falling like a natural pulse through the canopy
Cicadas call to attract mates, and the dry season provides ideal acoustic conditions:
Lower humidity allows sound to propagate more efficiently through the air
The thinning canopy creates open acoustic pathways through the forest
Cicadas are more than a sound. They are a critical link in the South Pacific ecosystem and an important food source for a wide range of species:
🦜 Tropical birds
Cicadas call to attract mates, and the dry season provides ideal acoustic conditions:
Embrace the sound.
The cicada chorus is a natural spectacle in itself, not background noise.
Start early or arrive at dusk.
Morning and late afternoon offer cooler temperatures for the hike.
Stay well hydrated.
The combination of heat and physical exertion on the trail makes proper hydration essential.
Bring sun protection.
With less canopy cover during the dry season, UV exposure on open sections of the trail is higher.
Cicadas are more than just noise in the dry forest. They are a pulse. In places like Nauyaca, their call wraps around you on the trail, marking the season and reminding every visitor that even in the hottest, driest months, this forest is teeming with life.
