Cerro Pelado (Cañas)

Before you go

Entry

₡3,000 for residents · entry ₡3,000 per person (2023); parking another ₡3,000; guided sunrise/sunset tour with breakfast ₡13,000

Tickets

Pay at the entrance

Parking

Guarded (tip the attendant)

Road

Gravel — a regular car is fine

Walk

30 min

Facilities

restrooms

Kids

Not for small kids

Dogs

Allowed

Bring

windbreaker, water, sunglasses, sunscreen

Fewer people

Most visitors come for sunrise or sunset.

Checked

2026-10

Tip

Start about 1.5 hours before sunset or go for sunrise. After ~400 m in the shade the trail is fully exposed, so pack a windbreaker, sunglasses, sunscreen and at least a liter of water; the full ridge walk and back takes 2–3 hours at an easy pace. If the top is socked in, wait half an hour – clouds often clear.

Be careful

Strong crosswinds on an exposed crest with a deep drop on one side and loose ground near the top – keep back from the edge and turn around on very windy days. Not a good outing for small kids.

Getting there

From Route 1, turn east at Javilla (just before Cañas when coming from San José) and follow a well-kept gravel road about 12 km (≈30 min) to a wooden 'Cerro Pelado' sign; park in the shade inside the gate. Any car makes it on the gravel; higher clearance is more comfortable.

Places nearby

• Soda Don Rogelio (leche dormida)Sodas & Local FoodThe little soda by Cañas' central park where Rogelio Gutiérrez started making leche dormida in 1946 – a cold, sweet milk drink whose recipe the family still keeps secret.
• La Piedra del Indio WaterfallsParks & WildlifeA tall (about 90 m) waterfall near San Miguel de Tilarán, reached by a 30-minute walk past a large pre-Columbian rock; a small pool higher up the trail is good for a dip.
• Manakin Waterfalls (formerly Viento Fresco)Parks & Wildlife · from $10Family-run private reserve 11 km from Tilarán with four waterfalls on one trail, including 75 m Rainbow Falls, with pools for a cold dip.
• Restaurante Hotel Guadalupe (Tilarán)Food & CoffeeA hotel restaurant in downtown Tilarán, the last town before the climb to Monteverde, serving traditional Costa Rican plates with good service: arroz con pollo, ceviche, olla de carne and casados.
• Pueblo Antiguo Lodge y Spa (thermal pools day pass)Day Passes & Hot SpringsA small country lodge on a 42-hectare forest estate in La Sierra, near the old Abangares gold mines.
• Trapiche Vásquez at Restaurante FloridaSodas & Local Food · from $5A family roadside soda on the dirt road between Tilarán and Monteverde where the owner has run sugar-cane demos for years: you help feed the trapiche, taste fresh cane juice plain or with orange or ginger, and see how tapa de dulce is boiled and molded.