September 24th, 26th, 27th. (While i took three trips for the purpose of brevity they will be synthesized into one day.)
I wake my second day in San Gil, bursting with the anticipation of visiting the attraction which initially sold me on San Gil. I climb out of bed nice and early and after a quick shower a fresh packing of my day bag I’m out the door, grabbing a fresh fruit milkshake and some more pastries to serve as both breakfast and lunch, then I’m back at the small terminaleta in the centre of San Gil climbing onto a waiting bus on platform 4 bound for Charala.
A few minutes later were off, heading out through narrow streets onto the main thoroughfare. Two minutes later we make a u-turn in a gas station to get going the right way. I take advantage of the brief slow down to let him know I’m headed to the waterfall and not the town of Charala. He smiles and nods, but insists upon not being paid until arrival.
The road is bumpy but relatively flat and straight considering were in mountainous terrain. After maybe 55 minutes in the bus it pulls to a stop by a small wooden archway and the driver turns, smiles and shouts “Cascadas.” I’m the only non local on the bus and so I’m the only one climbing off and paying the fare of 4,000 COP.
As I look up into the mountainous jungle my jaw drops. The crashing sound of the cascades is audible even from a great distance completing this perfect vista.
After taking a moment to admire to scene, I hurry up through to a small restaurant where they register my passport details and give me a green wristband in exchange for 7,000 COP. You can also walk about three minutes further down the road and enter there on another families land for 10,000 COP and a more adventurous path through the river most of the way, but with my laptop in tow I decide that wouldn’t be wise.
I walk up past some enclosures full of peacocks, turkeys and chickens while an alpaca watches me with suspicious eyes. I keep a corner of an eye on it to make sure I’m not charged as I snap a few photos of the birds. The turkey’s are huge and really somewhat hideous.
Leaving the bird behind I hurry up the fairly well maintained cobblestone path towards the falls. It’s uphill and I’m breathing hard pretty quickly. All around me butterfly’s land and take off, a dizzying array of coloured fluttering wings, reflecting in the strong sunshine.
Farmers fields surround me at first but as I get closer to the falls I enter the tropical forests that cover most of the mountains here. The butterflies still run rampant but are joined by a vast array of tropical flowers and mini cascades tumbling down through the jungle towards the main river. I find it difficult not just to go climbing up to explore the smaller ones but the distant thunder draws me on.
After climbing through another lovely beautiful set of cascades on rusting metal stair, I climb up some make shift stone steps and crest the hill, greeted with a tremendous view of two sets of falls.
Too excited to stop I climb down another set of steep metal stairs and out onto the rocks, climbing down and crossing the rushing river with the help of a convenient rope. Then I’m hauling myself up a small cliff face to get to the real falls, somewhere between 70-100 meters high.
I start laughing as the mist filled air cools my sweaty face. I’m utterly alone there somehow, (Go on a weekday not the weekend as it gets crowded) and I instantly peel off my shirt and hat, drop my bag, kick off my sandals and hurry along the slippery rocks lurking below rushing ankle deep water. Near the falls themselves is a natural pool of water that plunges to about neck deep. I slip into the icy cold water and swim as hard as I can, fighting the current and trying to get closer to the falls.
The water is incredibly refreshing and as I tread water against the current I glance up at the towering falls and the jungle all around me and start to laugh. Electric Blue butterflies dance in the wet air, the sun bouncing off their incandescent wings.
I find my feet on a rock deeper into the depths and launch myself towards the falls with all the momentum I can gather. I swim hard and end up at the rock wall of the pool perhaps a dozen feet from the main cascades. Working my way along the side I find makeshift handholds and footholds under water and edge closer to the rush.
Just before the falls begin I decide I have to try to get up onto the rock, and find a shallower point to do so from. I crawl up onto the uneven glistening stone, setting off at a careful pace towards the cascades in something resembling a crab walk.
As I reach the edge of the tumbling river I delight in the raw power of the falling droplet and crave more. I edge closer, always careful to make sure I have three solid grips before lifting an extremity and edge my way into the main flow, now pretty much blinded by the water and operating by feel.
I find a comfortable place in the rocks carved out by the falling water and sit there revelling in the euphoria of the biggest waterfall I have been under. The flow is surprisingly variable, sometimes just pinpricks on the skin, other times crashing down with force enough to leave bruises. Still I raise my arms triumphantly and laugh into the torrents of ice cold refreshment.
Eventually the power of nature crescendoes and becomes too much to take, but I decide, perhaps foolishly I need to go all the way across the falls. I manage the feat, feeling my way across the ledge of rock perhaps 6 feet above the pool of water, edging my way to the other side of the falls were the thunderous rain returns to a light drizzle.
I smile and climb out of nature’s wonderful wrath and out onto the drier rocks, looking back. Then I notice another ledge maybe 8 more feet up and before you know it I’m back in that tumbling torrent. This ledge doesn’t make it all the way across and is a lot more slippery so I content myself with getting back under the main flow of water and back out again before I’m swept back down over the rocks and into the pool.
That done I return to my pack, put my shirt back on to protect my milky white skin, and find a natural seat carved into the rock, low enough to avoid the ever present mist and take out my laptop to get some writing done, all while staring up at those perfect falls.
The words pour out in the rarest of ways, (This is true of all three days). Eventually a few people do arrive A friendly american couple ask me If I could take a few photos. They picked a good time as I’d just wrapped up a scene So I took some photos of them , then asked if they’d do the same for me, once I was in the falls. They looked baffled but agreed and seemed only mildly worried as I repeated my earlier process as fast as safely possible. Sadly most of the photos didn’t really turn out, the sun too bright above the water, but still I was glad to have captured a photo of me in the falls to help me relive the feeling.
I climb out again and settle back into writing. Just as I’m ready to leave I notice some people above the falls, and some more ropes coming down. I watch in amazement as two people proceed to rappel down the waterfall. (I believe it costs about 30,000 COP per person, but could not quite bring myself to do it, not enjoying the constrictions of harnesses and yes, being quite afraid)
I offer to send the two brave souls the photos I took and they happily agree. Then with the sun starting to descend in the sky I hurry back along the cobblestone path and wait for a bus to come around the bend in the road, all while enjoying an unparalleled view.
An hour later I’m back at El Dorado Hostel and 7 Tigres Pizzeria.
**** A few notes: Weekends are crowded but the looks on the locals faces as I seem unfazed by the coldness of the water and climb back behind it are priceless.
Two People I met who I sent the more difficult way up the river with fair warning, said it was quite difficult but well worth it.
If you want to meet and chat with local people Saturday is a great day to go.
Rappelling can be booked in San Gil, or you can hope they are there and book it on arrival. I recommend the first and try to negotiate the price, it will probably start at 40,000 or 50,000 COP. 30,000 was possible while I was there.
