Family Brenes Waterfall Rappelling Canyon at Finca Modelo (Model Farm) Monteverde

Maybe a yolo or for your bucket list.

Definitely not your average Costa Rica tour and definitely not for everyone, Brenes Canyoneering just north of Santa Elena outside Monteverde is a challenge for even experienced rappellers.

The course includes two 12 foot falls, a pair at 20 feet to warm up, a big wide fun face that drops you and the water almost 50 feet and the pictured plunge of over 130 feet (40 meters).

There is a zip-line to a belayed drop if you want to bail out and skip the big boy.

An incredible tour right on the edge

Huge waterfalls crush through the gorgeous canyon and would be canyoneers are belayed from the top and the bottom which is a good thing since the sheath broke on the top rope for one of the participants on our tour.

As climbers know the core of a rope has plenty of strength to hold you weight even if the sheath separates, but the core alone is very stretchy.  The unlucky tourist fell about ten feet before smacking into a boulder as the other belay caught him.

He had a hematoma the size of a soccer ball on the inside of his thigh, but we saw him later in a local restaurant and other than being very sore the doctor told him he’d be fine.

The Toughest Commercial Waterfall Canyon Rappel in Costa Rica

Despite the fact that there were several rappels where you had to keep your chin tucked or your nose and mouth would fill and you’d drown, the cold water (Monteverde is fairly high elevation), and the beating we took against the rocks this was a blast.

When you finish there’s a valid sense of accomplishment but this tour is not recommended for the out of shape, faint of heart, or under-insured.