The hike 🥾
The hike is called the “seven waterfalls hike”, named quite frankly because you can see (at least) seven different waterfalls throughout this incredible hike. This is a description of how to complete the hike without a guide, however there are guided tour options as well. The route is a loop so there are two options for how to begin this hike.
Option 1– You can walk or get a jeep from the centre of Jardin to Cerro el Cuchillion.
Option 2– You can walk or get a tuk tuk from the centre of Jardin to Cascada La Escalera.
The route 🗺️
The route depends on where you begin but I will talk about how we did it. We began at “Cascada La Escalera” which I would personally recommend because you can get a tuk tuk to the start (14,000 pesos) which is much cheaper than the alternative Jeep option. This is also the first waterfall you will see.
From here you follow a pretty good track through a banana plantation which takes you up the valley until you reach a farmhouse. Don’t walk through their drive, instead, there is a small gate to the right of the driveway which goes round the house.
After the house, the path gets a bit smaller and less distinct in places so would definitely recommend using a downloaded map on maps.me or strava. After 20 minutes or so of gradual elevation gain traversing the hillside you begin to make your way up the hill and into the forest.
Soon after entering the forest you will find the many different cascades of the “falls of the dragon”.
After here there is some more hiking through the forest. It’s worth keeping an eye on your map to make sure you’re on the right path because sometimes it’s not too clear. Soon you will encounter my personal favourite waterfall of the hike- “Cascada Cueva de Los Guácharos”. To see this waterfall you have to turn off the main path which you then return to. You make your way down the hillside using some ropes for the steeper sections and soon reach the first viewpoint which shows the 3 waterfalls all combining. However, I highly recommend continuing further down to the bottom of the falls. This section is particularly difficult and if you’re not good with heights I wouldn’t recommended it. There is a tough very steep rock face you have to encounter, however, there are ropes and plenty of foot holds to help you down/up.
Once at the bottom of the falls you can embrace the most insane waterfall I’ve ever seen.
After you’ve admired this waterfall you retrace your steps back to where you came off the main path and continue on towards the final waterfall. This next section was both the most challenging but exciting part of the hike. It involves three consecutive river crossings of the rivers you’ve just seen falling down the valley. These are pretty difficult so be sure to use the provided rope and take your time.
As you can see one of them we just had to get our feet wet to get across.
A few minutes after crossing these rivers you’ll make your way up to the final waterfall of the hike- Cascada “Salto del Ángel”. This is a magnificent waterfall with loads of spray coming from the force of the water hitting the ground.
From here the path is fairly straightforward and after a while of making your way up through the forest, you will reach a track. This track meanders its way back down a different valley, through some farmland. You will reach a gate that the farmer has to let you through, where they may charge you 20,000 pesos for walking through their land. The walk back down the track takes a while but is pretty easy going. You’ll arrive at the main road just East of Jardin, then it’s about 20 minutes back to the centre.
Stats 🚶
Distance– 15.5km
Elevation gain– 863m
Time taken– 5.5 hours
If you’d like to get the route from my strava I’ll put the link here- https://strava.app.link/qRwyg3NF0Rb
Cameron Explores 
Leave a comment