Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Hacienda Guachipelin boasts being an authentic, charming Ranch Hotel, catering to high-end travelers. It is a well-known traditional cattle hacienda located in the folkloric Guanacaste Region, bordering the National Park and active Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. Due to the volcanic activity, it features natural thermal mineral hot springs and volcanic mud with healing properties. Officially categorized as a 4-star mountain resort, it has a total capacity of 79 units, mostly legacy suites and superior rooms, in the heart of our 3,460-acre nature reserve and cattle and horse farm. It is the ideal location for exploring one of the most interesting regions and exciting active volcanoes in Costa Rica. Experience all sorts of active outdoor activities on our hiking trails through the exuberant forest, leading to amazing, refreshing waterfalls and nature pools, or simply relax in one of our hot springs ponds immersed in the forest. Wellness and well-being are two of the main reasons guests visit us. At the SPA Simbiosis you can let go during relaxing massages, rejuvenate with natural mud wraps, among many other treatments, or just open your senses for wellbeing during a mindfulness forest bathing activity. A yoga deck was recently opened, surrounded by forest with breathtaking views of the volcano. Hacienda Guachipelin has developed probably the best adventure park in the area, with exclusive access to the magical “Las Pailas” Section of the National Park for admiring firsthand the impressive volcanic activity. It features a wide range of exciting adventurous activities such as zip lining above river canyons, wall climbing, mountain bike rides, bathing next to waterfalls, canyoning, horseback riding, and tubing. And, for memorable gastronomical experiences, we offer four very attractive venues. The gourmet Nekajui Restaurant, around an original antique clay oven, includes appealing fire pits in the gardens; El Rincon del Café, our cafeteria, next to the swimming pool; the sunset Canopy Bar & Terrace; and “La Hacienda,” offering fine Costa Rican typical specialties. This first class hotel is conveniently located 35 minutes from Guanacaste International Airport, 25 minutes from Liberia and 1 hour from the renowned beach resorts of Papagayo Gulf.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travelers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin garners accolades from guests for its exceptional service, with staff members frequently described as friendly and attentive. The hotel's amenities, including a range of activities and dining options, contribute to a comfortable stay, although opinions on value vary. Cleanliness is consistently praised, with travelers noting pristine rooms and grounds.
The rooms themselves are well-received, offering comfort and natural views. Set in a prime location near Volcano National Park, the hotel's atmosphere is tranquil, with an inviting presence that enchants many visitors.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Tranquil
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Friendly
Amenities
Comprehensive
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I actually went in August 2022 but forgot to leave a review. While isolated, this is a beautiful property , with good restaurants, beautiful grounds and friendly staff. A wide variety of activities to choose from kept us active the whole time.We really enjoyed our hike at the volcano, our horseback ride to La Oropendola Waterfall, and visiting the hot springs and mud bath! so fun. This was our first stop on a 2 week adventure and it was a great place to see when travelling in Costa Rica
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Date of stay: August 2023
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Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from jose batalla, General Manager at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Responded Jul 25, 2024
We are glad to know that you enjoyed the adventure and the service and the food. Thank you for visiting Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park. Thank you a lot for your review.
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The hotel is located just before the entrance to the National Forest. You are given a wristband when you check in The entire lodge is spotless Rooms have great A/C and showers You can book a reservation for two restaurants. We found a great food menu at the Cantina Bar. Tacos were delicious and reasonably priced
In terms of adventures in and around Rincon de la Vieja I would strongly recommend that you take advantage of all of the free spots you can visit with your guest wristbands. They provide a map and explain areas included We booked an online trip for $100/ea before we checked in and other than having a group guid on our hike (on an easy to do yourself) 2 mile volcano loop everything we did (waterfall hot springs and mud bath and access to a beautiful stream) were 100% included with our room wristband.
Enjoy! Book of volcano view room it is worth it
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Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from jose batalla, General Manager at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Responded Jul 25, 2024
Thank you for your comments . We are glad that you enjoyed your stay at Hacienda Guachipelin.
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I am glad we stayed here because we got to experience so much of the rainforest activities in one location, and it was a very close drive to the Liberia airport, so we did not need a car. The private transfer was very well organized. It was also a short drive to the Coco Beach area for our 2nd half of the trip. The hotel is very lush with all the beautiful, relaxing, rainforest sounds at night. The staff are very friendly. The food was good but not the best we had in Costa Rica and pricey for the quality. The room was nice and spacious. We loved the hammock. We did all the activities which were well organized, of good value and the guides were amazing. The activities were way more adventurous than we had anticipated, but we loved them! You definitely need to be in good health. The only negatives are that the hot springs and large waterfall are not in close proximity to the hotel. It requires you to have your own car or take the hotel shuttle. The hotel shuttle is not convenient. It only runs every three hours, so if you are doing the tours, it won't fit with your schedule. Sadly, we were not able to see the big waterfall because the shuttle times didn't work with tour schedules. The only time we could get to the hot springs was during the same time there were big tour groups there, so it was way over crowded. We didn't stay long but did enjoy the water fall hike that is on the other side. I would suggest the hotel adds a private car option for hotel guests. I would have gladly paid someone for a ride when we had breaks. The breakfast is included, but ends at 9 am, which is really early and not convenient either. We only made it one morning in time. The pool is nice, but the hot tub is cold. It would have been so nice to have come back after being cold in the waterfalls to a warm hot tub. The buffet is supposed to be half price for kids, but they kept trying to charge full price. We would have to question it and have it corrected. With a few changes, this place could be 5 stars and above. It is very beautiful!
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Date of stay: February 2025Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pros: The hotel and the surrounding grounds are lovely. There are many different birds there. The food was mostly very good. The room was comfortable, clean and spacious. We chose this hotel because it was the closest one to the Rincon de La Vieja national park. Cons: The hotel provided transportation from the airport to the hotel. The cost was $120. The van that took us was very uncomfortable and the ride along the bumpy dirt road was very bad. When we left the hotel after three days the hotel ordered a taxi for us which cost half the price and was in a comfortable air-conditioned taxi. The hotel also provided a shuttle bus to the national park and to the spa. The bus was a run-down old school bus with no cushioning to absorb the shocks of the pot-holes. The hot springs were difficult to get to and were uncomfortable to relax in. If you think you are going to a luxurious spa you will be very disappointed.
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Date of stay: February 2025
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Very spacious and clean rooms. Excellent setting. Decoration and local art are pleasing, but seating arrangements in the rooms are sparse (2 wooden chairs and one rotating office chair don’t make comfortable sitting). Staff at the place was between cold and disinterested, other than the handyman who helped us fix our very aged room safe. Front desk staff struggled to get a smile across the counter and no help with luggage was given. Breakfast was very good - buffet with a very large choice of food. Lunch and dinner menus grossly overpriced. The grounds of the hotel are excellent - walking paths ample and well sign posted and plenty of activity on offer.
Recommend for its location, activities and nature experience, but guests should not expect too much from the hotel experience.
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Date of stay: February 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
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Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our first stop in Costa Rica. Good value. Comfortable beds. Superior Queen rooms had nice extras. There was a long bench to hold suitcases, a long side shelf in the bathroom to hold toiletries, hair appliances, etc., and night stands on each side of the beds as well as one in the center. Nice size room safe and a full length mirror outside the bathroom, hanging space with a few hangers, and many shelves on which to store items. Also a mini fridge and coffee pot with 2 packets of delicious coffee (4 cups each). There is apparently good sound-proofing between rooms because we didn't really hear any noise from adjacent rooms, however, the delightful bird/nature sounds of Costa Rica awakened us each day about 5:30 or 6.
The covered patio area near the pool was our favorite place to hang out after the activities of the day and order drinks and snacks before getting ready for dinner. On the first night, our group of 6 ordered different versions of the rice/quinoa bowls for a combination lunch/dinner, and they were delicious!
We stayed for 3 nights (2 1/2 days). We explored the grounds and red pond trail before relaxing in the pool area the afternoon we arrived, took the shuttle to Rio Negro Hot Springs and waterfall the second day, and did a combination LaLeona Waterfall and River tubing combo adventure the third day. If we had one more day, we would have done some hiking in the national park.
We began each day with the delicious and bountiful buffet breakfast and ordered off the menu in the restaurant on the second and third nights. Entrees were good, but my personal favorite was the quinoa bowl I ordered at the snack bar near the pool on the first night. We intended to get the buffet on our third night here, not realizing it was not available on Wednesday evening. We appreciated that the rooms were in close proximity to the pool area, on-site restaurants, and reception area.
The grounds are beautiful and well kept. On Thursday morning from the breakfast area, we watched a howler monkey moving through the trees and patio below. Our first monkey sighting!
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from jose batalla, General Manager at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Responded Dec 22, 2024
Thank you for choosing Hacienda Guachipelin as your first stop in Costa Rica! We’re delighted that you found good value in our Superior Queen rooms and enjoyed the thoughtful amenities like the bench for suitcases, ample shelving, and the mini fridge with coffee. It’s wonderful to know you appreciated the natural surroundings—especially waking up to the sounds of birds and spotting a howler monkey from the breakfast area! We’re glad you enjoyed relaxing by the pool and savored our rice, quinoa bowls, and other menu items. Our team is always looking for ways to enhance our guests’ dining experiences, and your feedback is invaluable. It sounds like you made the most of your stay by visiting Río Negro Hot Springs, the waterfalls, and even trying the La Leona Waterfall and river tubing combo. We hope you’ll come back soon to explore even more of Rincón de la Vieja National Park and everything our property has to offer. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience, and we look forward to welcoming you again! Pura vida !!!
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Stayed at this beautiful hotel for 2 nights and wished we could have stayed for at least two more. First with location— this hotel is just outside Rincon de la Vieja and has lots of activities to keep one busy, from hiking to thermal pools to a lovely spa and of course the Rincon de la Vieja National park. The rooms are lovely with lots of space and hammocks outside each room to just relax—one could just sit and enjoy a book and do nothing else. The staff is very courteous and helpful. We had room 131, which was just perfect! The breakfast in the restaurant is very good and has lots of variety. We also enjoyed dinner at the restaurant which was excellent. Went to symbiosis spa for a message treatment, which was out of this world. Massage treatments include sauna, mud bath, solarium and volcanic pool. The staff brought us detox drinks, hot and cold through the almost 3 hour experience at a very affordable price. Highly recommend it. I would love to come back for a longer time.
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Date of stay: April 2022Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Got the "top of the line" Volcano View room. Waste of money in rainy season because only saw the volcano once -- and even then it was a long, long way in the distance. However, the room was quite nice. Small fridge, working safe, good WiFi, great rainshower head in the shower with plenty of hot water. Nice toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion). Comfy beds and nice linens.
This place is not cheap, but it is located as close to the national park as you can get --- but still requires your own car or use their scheduled transport. Glad we stayed here. Enjoyed the various trails (on site), the selection of restaurants, a great bar (with happy hour 5-6 daily) with a wonderful bar tender, fantastic cocktails, and a nice menu of bar snacks and meals.
And the staff were all very friendly (spoke great English) and very helpful.
The Simbiosis Spa was the biggest disappointment. Quite expensive, which wasn't a surprise given the unusual options (like volcanic mud and coffee massage or blue corn scrub with chocolate facial). However, the services were a bit disappointing and in order to use the sauna, volcanic mud & thermal spa area, you had to walk long distances over gravel (in bare feet).
Overall, really glad we stayed here. Enjoyed our experience, but not going to make a regular trip here.
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Date of stay: November 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from jose batalla, General Manager at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Responded Nov 30, 2024
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Hacienda Guachipelín. We’re delighted to hear you enjoyed the comfortable accommodations, excellent amenities, and convenient proximity to Rincón de la Vieja National Park. It’s wonderful to know you appreciated the on-site trails, restaurant options, bar offerings, and the friendly service provided by our staff. We’re sorry to hear that the weather impacted your Volcano View room experience during the rainy season. Your feedback regarding the spa services and access to the thermal spa area is valuable, and we will use it to enhance the guest experience. Thank you for choosing Hacienda Guachipelín. We’re glad you enjoyed your stay and hope you’ll consider visiting us again in the future—perhaps in a different season to fully appreciate the volcano views.
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We stayed at Hacienda Guachipelin for three nights at the end of June and had a fantastic experience. At the time of our visit, Costa Rica was experiencing a spike in Covid cases, and though my family have all been vaccinated, we appreciated the precautions taken by the staff at the lodge. Every staff person we interacted with wore a mask and there were hand-washing stations outside of the main lobby, restaurant, and adventure center with clear signage directly guests to wash hands and wear masks when entering public spaces. We did not have a car while we were there (hired private transport from the airport), and we didn't feel that we needed one as there is plenty to do directly on the property and the lodge provides a shuttle to the National Park and the hot springs. There are multiple trails you can take from the lodge to beautiful waterfalls. We did the river tubing from the adventure center, which was a blast. We took the shuttle one of the days to the national park where we hiked a trail that took us through dense rain forest and also past bubbling mud pots and fumaroles. We visited the hot springs twice which involved taking a shuttle and then a short walk through the woods. We saw lots of beautiful birds, including toucans, in the trees right around the hotel, and monkeys twice when out on trails. The room was very comfortable for my family of three and included a breakfast buffet each day in the restaurant. We ate most of our other meals at the cafe near the pool where you can order a la carte from the main restaurant. The menu had numerous options and the food was very good and reasonably priced. One of the things that we appreciated the most was how friendly and helpful the staff were. Edwin at the poolside cafe was especially great, and the front desk and adventure center staff were wonderful as well. Overall we found Hacienda Guachipelin to be a very friendly, comfortable, and laid back home base for exploring the area around Rincon de la Vieja.
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Date of stay: June 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from jose batalla, General Manager at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Responded Aug 22, 2021
We are glad that you had a good time exploring Rincon de la Vieja volcano with Hacienda Guachipelin as your home base. Rincon de la Vieja is known for the secondary volcanic activity in the national park area. We are glad that you enjoyed and appreciated the service from the staff , specially from Edwin at the pool side cafeteria. Pura Vida !!!
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This place was absolutely gorgeous. The rooms were beautiful and big, Hospitality was awesome and food Was great. Best of all were the awesome Hot Springs. Never seen anything like it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves to soak
We decided to book with nomadtourscr after asking around and checking out availability and pricing. Gabriel was able to provide us with private transportation with whatever we felt like doing for an excellent price. we did La leona water hike,rainforest,coffee tour, Atv,Our driver was right on time, very professional, and it was really nice having a private tour with just us in the vehicle. We got the experience we were hoping for and highly recommend Gabriel for any off resort tours. I can honestly say that we had the best experience in Costa Rica thanks to the wonderful service from this hotel!!
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Date of stay: January 2025
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There is internet access in the rooms. I have two middle school boys that would have been crazy if there wasn’t. But they were able to be on their devices with good service.
I would reach out to the hotel/s directly - the gear is built for adults and the canopy stuff is very dangerous for anyone too small for the equipment. This is a 3rd world country (and I lived for 22 years in 8 different countries) so believe me, the safety standards are no where near what the USA of Western Europe has. After 4 trips to Costa Rica I finally cliff climbed and zip lined and it was a blast (but I have climbed since my teens). A much more kid friendly hot springs resort with Dinasour Park , plus horse riding tours, and lots of nice hot springs pools owned by resort within minutes from guest rooms is Blue River Resort and Spa -- we often got large hot spring pools to ourselves for ours since the resort has about 5 or 6 large pools on site - one for kids has a water slide in it (a much longer drive that includes dirt roads and drives through areas where most people still ride on horse). The drive is about 1 hr 45 min to Blue Spring versus 45 min to Hacienda from Liberia Airport (Hacienda and Blue Springs are BOTH worth visiting). Hacienda has a MUCH better breakfast for the money. Hacienda has REALLY nice hot springs but you have to catch a shuttle to the hots springs. Blue River is equally wonderful and my wife loves it. We just discovered Hacienda. What makes Blue River a better value is when you use a Groupon! We actually landed 2 Free outdoor activities with Groupon for Blue River. Hacienda is a MUCH larger and busier operation that has day visit packages to their hot springs for locals plus bus tours galore coming in so can get crowded whereas Blue River is a more remote, scenic drive around to the back side of the Volcano and it is higher up and much cooler altitude. We rented a car on most trips but if you are going to be there for a week like we were then it may be cheaper to higher a driver (because car rentals advertise $30 a day but the MANDATORY Costa Rican insurance is about $50 per day! ) Liberia Airport is new and modern and easy to get in and out of: you are 30 min to the beach on the Pacific (Playa Hermosa is very close and nice)
Contact info:
1. Hacienda: info at guachepelin 888-730-3840 / it is a fully operational cattle ranch and milk operation on top of a large number of rooms and top flight restaurant.
2. Blue River Resort and Spa: (ask for Kevin to be your guide - he is an amazing zip line guide) the Zip Line tour, Twin Falls swim, and the Angel Falls (long hot hike plus short cliff climb down to Blue River and spectacular Cathedral Falls) the Drive to zip line often allows you to spot hard to see Sloths!
Reservations at bluerivercr / whats app: 630-973-30
* Blue River is kid friendly and they have a nice restaurant and bar but the village is small - there are some small mom and pop shops in the village that provide local hand made gifts and the home made food for dinner is excellent but reserve in advance so that they can prepare - all organic, locally sourced meals for abt $15 to $20 per plate in town (the best one is on your left across from the school).
3. Beach: Playa Hermosa (Roberto's Restaurant is on the beach): awesome views sunset dinner - reserve early - most seating is outside so only good for sunny days - delicious seafood and drinks - fun beach for the kids.
The outlets accepted my type A American style, two prong chargers. I don’t recall if they were type B or not (and would accept the full three prong cords). Not having those types of cords, I didn’t pay specific attention. Hope that helps a little. Have a blast!!
Tubing is not recommended in Costa Rica - we had to help one family get to a doctor on one CR trip we were on. The tubing can get rough and there is often no open clinic with miles or even hours. The mom got a bad cut on a rock and there was no doctor/nurse in town on duty so we had to drive them back to Liberia which cut their vacation short. Fortunately my wife is a nurse. I recommend zip lining at Blue River Resort and spa (get 2 free zip line trips if you book a room for 2 on Groupon). Beautiful site in a remote jungle on Volcano - they own their own hot springs. I recommend tubing in the ocean! I have river guided and life guarded in the USA and done olympic level rivers so it's just a matter of your vacation getting ruined. And these rivers in CR can be fast and treacherous by US standards and the young local guides don't speak enough English to be able to exlplain. I've lived in jungle settings in the Phillipines, India, Indonesia etc for 8 years and believe me, 3rd world countries do not have the same access to health or concept of what is safe like we do. River Tube at your own risk.
There are more places to choose from in the Rincon de La Vieja area.
PRICE RANGE
₱7,445 - ₱15,639 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
hacienda guachipelin hotel rincon de la vieja
LOCATION
Costa RicaProvince of GuanacasteRincon de La Vieja
NUMBER OF ROOMS
81
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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HOTEL HACIENDA GUACHIPELIN - UPDATED 2025 Reviews & Price Comparison (Rincon de La Vieja, Costa Rica) - Tripadvisor
Frequently Asked Questions about Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin
Which popular attractions are close to Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin?
Nearby attractions include Experience hiking to Leona Waterfall (4.5 km), Parque Nacional Rincón de la Vieja (4.1 km), and Rio Negro Hot Springs (3.8 km).
