River Crossing to Cataratos los Amates waterfalls | Warning

March 28th, 2023 by tcowan78

I crossed here towards the end of the dry season, locals said the river was as low as it gets; around a foot deep, mostly. I decided to cross with a 4x4 pickup that had just come that way, just in case.. and got stuck within 10m of leaving the riverbank! It's rocky and uneven; my tyre got wedged in between two rocks - no amount of people pushing would get me clear, and the rope they tried to pull me out with snapped. Thankfully the driver went off to find a stronger length of rope and in 90 minutes they were back with more guys; between them and the tow they had me out!

Aside from the river crossing I'd say this is by far the easier access; I'd arrived at the falls from the other direction (coming in from Santa María Ixtahuatán) - paved till the last 16 or so kms, after that it's passable till the steep, rocky and in places very loose descent of the last 4km or so, and that bit was just about ok in a standard clearance RWD Astro - going down, in the dry season. Stood hard on the brakes all the way though and bottomed out several times, and I'm not at all sure I'd have made it back up, at least without significant wear on the tyres.

I would say the falls are worth it if you have 4x4 and/or it's dry season. Fair warning about the river crossing! In the rains I personally wouldn't go near it in either direction (bikes could get across the footbridge here, as described elsewhere). Surreal watching fishes swimming around your house; I'm very grateful the engine at least was above the level of the river. If you do get stuck there's apparently someone who will give you a tow if you alert them in the village above, for a fee - but it's a hot and dusty hike up of 8km or so, and no phone signal throughout the valley. You might be better off hiking back to the hamlet just before the falls for help.

September 25th, 2018 by Damien

If you come along the rough 4x4 dirt road from Pasaco to the southwest, this road ends at a foot bridge and a deep rivee crossing. Depending on rains it can be 6' deep and a foot of mud on the bottom. Not passable if it's rained much lately.

The waterfalls are a 1 km hike from this point.