The La Cascada Trail at Eco Venao offers a serene and family-friendly hiking experience for those looking to immerse themselves in nature. Stretching about 1.5 miles, this well-marked trail is perfect for beginners or anyone seeking a relaxing hike through the lush landscape of Playa Venao.
The trail is well signed to make sure you are guided as you walk along the way, but we recommend you stop by the reception and ask for one of our trail maps. Apart from marking the trail, the map has some interesting information about the different kinds of trees that you will encounter along the hike, including the Royal Palm, Jagua, Espavé, and the Panama Tree among others.
The beginning of the trail is just a few steps away from our in-house restaurant. If you are interested in getting to know our chicken farm and stables, you can take a small detour as soon as you begin the trail – just look for the signs. We currently have 5 horses that roam around freely through our farm during the day and are also available for horse back rides.
As you continue the hike on the main trail you will see and hear the Las Escobas stream. This stream crosses our farm all the way down to the beach. After ½ a mile of a fairly easy hike, with moderate steepness, you will reach La Cascada (waterfall). Although it is a small waterfall, it is very beautiful. Take a moment to dip in the water and let the water cascade over you, or just sit near the waterfall and enjoy the naturally soothing sounds.
As you continue walking upstream, follow the sign to the viewpoint. After a steeper hike of about 300 meters you will reach the viewpoint with a bench for you to take a break. This is also the perfect spot for you to take a beautiful panoramic picture of the entire bay of Playa Venao. Being at about 130 meters above sea level, this is the highest point on our trail.
As you continue your hike and descend down, pay attention to your surroundings, as you may be able to see and hear the howler monkeys, and if you are lucky you might see all three different species of monkeys that live in Eco Venao on your hike – Howler, Whiteface and Spider.