The Lost Waterfalls Trail was our favourite shorter hike in the beautiful highlands surrounding Boquete. While it’s a little tougher than the nearby Pipeline Trail, it’s still very manageable and the reward for our efforts were three pretty waterfalls, which were impressive, even in the dry season.

The hike, which is also known as Tres Cascadas (Three Waterfalls) seemed to be slightly more popular than other hikes in the area, but if you time it right, you’ll still have the most part of the trail to yourself, as was the case for us. Read on for all our tips about this cool hike.

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A Description of the Hike

See the practicalities section below on how to get to the Bajo Mono Area from Boquete. Once there, you’ll have to follow the path east from the road and cross the river via a wobbly hanging bridge.

Once across, you’ll have to keep to the right and climb the stairs until you reach the small ticket booth at the top, where you’ll have to register and pay the entrance fee. Make sure to look back west before continuing, as we loved the views of Volcán Barú framed by the flowering Hortensia Bushes.

Right after the booth, the trail starts descending, before climbing again through the pretty cloud forest, which is full of tall trees picturesquely overgrown with bromeliads, colourful flowers and huge tree ferns. I recommend visiting the Lower Waterfall on your way back, as the trail is easier coming from the east, so when the path splits keep to the left.

After about 20 minutes, you’ll come to the Middle Falls, tumbling off a moss-grown cliff in a pretty rainforest clearing. Keep your eyes peeled for Longhorn Beetles near the falls, we saw a huge specimen sunning itself on the rocks near the pool.

When we were here, there were lots of people around, so we quickly pressed on and enjoyed the place in peace on our way back.

The section of trail between the middle and upper falls is the most complicated, as it steep and very muddy, at least when we were there. There are a number of ropes to help you navigate the slippery rocks and roots. Make sure to take it slow, and you’ll be fine.

Eventually you’ll reach the more secluded Upper Falls, which were my favourite among the bunch. Here we waited, until we had the place to ourselves, then I took a dip in the freezing pool at the bottom and when we made our way back, we had the entire trail to ourselves.

After another quick visit to the now-deserted Second Waterfall, we made our way back to the road, via a short detour to the Lower Falls. While they are taller than the other two, you can’t get as close, which made me prefer the Middle and Upper Falls. From here, it’s only about 5 minutes back to the trailhead.

Lost Waterfalls Trail Map

This map of the Lost Waterfalls Trail shows the route of the hike I described above.

Practicalities

How to Get to the Trailhead

The trail is located in the Bajo Mono Region, north of Boquete. To get there, just catch a Bajo-Mono-bound collectivo from the corner of Avenida Central and Calle 1 Sur, one block north Boquete’s Parque José Domingo Médica, and they’ll drop you at the trailhead.

How Long is the Lost Waterfalls Trail?

The trail is about 2km or 1.5mi. one-way and 4km or 3mi. in total.

How Long Does it Take to Hike the Trail?

With some time at the Falls and a short swim in one of the pools, the entire hike took us about 2.5 hours.

How Hard is the Trail?

The majority of the trail is pretty easy to navigate. The most complicated section comes between the second and third falls, where you have to scramble up (and down) some slippery rocks and roots.

There are some ropes to help you navigate these sections, but you still need to be sure-footed.

How Much Is the Entrance Fee?

It’s on private property and the entrance fee is a bit steep at 10$ (especially compared to other waterfall hikes in the country, like the ones around Santa Fé), but still worth it in my opinion.

When to Go

This is a rather popular trail, so it’s a good idea to either go in the morning or in the afternoon, shortly before it closes.

We went to the Pipeline Trail first, arrived at the Lost Waterfalls Trail around 2:30pm, when there were lots of people and left shortly before 5pm, at which time we were the only ones still on the trail.

Do You Need a Guide?

In my opinion, the trail can easily be done alone, as it’s well-managed and even in the tricky sections, a guide won’t do much good, except to give you some encouragement 😂.

Facilities Along the Trail

There’s a toilet at the start of the trail, but no places to buy food or water, so make sure to bring all the water and snacks you’ll need.

Other Hikes in the Area

Closer to Boquete along the same road is the easier Pipeline Trail, which can be combined with the Lost Waterfalls Trail. We did the Pipeline Trail first, but if you start early, doing the Lost Waterfalls Trail first would probably be a good idea to avoid the crowds.

See Also

The Ultimate Guide to Volcán Barú – Panama’s Highest Mountain