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When we set out to visit the best waterfalls in San Luis Potosí, Tamul waterfall (or Cascada Tamul) was at the top of our list. At a whopping 105 meters in height, and spanning up to 300 meters in width, Tamul waterfall is the tallest waterfall in San Luis Potosí. But when we were trying to figure out how to hike to it, it seemed like it was almost an impossible mission. We’re here to tell you that it’s really not as complicated or as treacherous as the other blogs make it out to be.

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Boat rides to Tamul Waterfalls

Riding a boat to the foot, or close to the foot of Tamul waterfall is the most popular way to visit this place. There are plenty of tours to paddle to the falls.

Most will tell you that the boat ride is about 2-hours long, and includes a stop at the Cueva del agua cenote. Tour packages will pick you up from Ciudad Valles and take you to the docks where you will board the boats. You can also drive to Tanchachin or La Morena and hire a guide there. Prices will vary depending on what tour you take.

Hiking to the top of Tamul Waterfall

Like we said, every article we read before going made it seem like Mission Impossible to hike to the top of Tamul Waterfalls. You had to drive on this crazy bumpy road that was going to break your car’s suspension. You had to bribe these locals posing as guides. Walk a few kilometers. Find the rainbow. Talk to the unicorn. Pay the troll under the bridge… you get the idea!

We’re here to tell you that it’s really not that complicated! In fact, we went with a small sedan, and came out unscathed! Here’s exactly how we did it – we’ve even broken it down step-by-step for you.

If you want to check out other waterfalls in San Luis Potosí, make sure you check out our article here. It includes the top 10 waterfalls to visit in Huasteca Potosina.

Why is hiking Tamul waterfalls better than taking a boat

If the road and journey to get to the boats are easier than trying to hike the waterfalls, you may be wondering why we were so adamant about it. Well, there are many reasons for it.

When you hike to the Tamul waterfalls, you get much closer to them than if you took a boat. In fact, when we hiked, we were at the top of the falls and the very bottom of them too. You get two very different vantage points of a very impressive waterfall. You can even swim to where the water actually falls. If you take a boat, you will only get 200 meters close to them, and you get a very far view.

Another reason to hike to Tamul waterfalls instead of taking the boat, is that the hike is much more leisurely than the boat ride. The thought of rowing for close to three hours just doesn’t seem like that much fun to us. Even if everyone does say that the view is great along the way. And even if you do get to stop by the cenote Cueva del agua.

Finally, from all the reviews we read online, it seemed like the boat ride was very rushed. You didn’t have that much time to enjoy the view, to swim in the river or in the cenote. While during the hike, we went at our own pace. We stopped many times along the way to take pictures. Jumping in and swimming wherever we wanted. We really had the time to enjoy the experience.

Sure, the hike to the bottom of the falls is a bit nerve-wracking, but it’s nothing too difficult that can’t be done if you are in slightly good shape. However, if you are afraid of heights, or if you’re not a good swimmer, the boat might be a better option for you.

An important thing to note is that the hike to the waterfalls is not possible in the summer months (the rainy season). During the rainy season, the falls are full and the part you can hike to is actually underwater. At that time, only boat rides seem to be possible, and even then, it’s important to check before heading out. We were told that sometimes, even the boat ride isn’t possible because the river is too violent.

So without further ado, here is how to hike to the Tamul falls in San Luis Potosí.

Getting to the tour guides to hike the Tamul Waterfalls

We’ll preface this by saying we rented a sedan (Kia Rio) for our trip to Tamul Waterfalls from Ciudad Valles. We spoke to some locals who told us how to get to the ‘caseta‘ (or booth) of tour guides. From everything we read, getting to the falls with a guide was the only way to hike to the top of the Tamul Waterfalls. Although it may be a bit more expensive, we still recommend going with a guide.

In order to get to the caseta, you will need to drive from Ciudad Valles toward El Sauz, then toward El Rancho Illusion, and Camarones. You will be on a paved ‘highway’ type road. You’ll even see signs pointing to Tamul waterfalls. Follow those signs.

This road will then take you straight to a ‘dead end’ where you’ll see a booth with many guides and an entrance sign saying ‘Tamul waterfalls’. Congrats! You’ve made it to the right place!

Hiring a guide to hike the Tamul waterfalls

Once at the booth, you will be asked if you want to go on the boat or if you want to hike to the top of Tamul. We knew we wanted to hike, so that’s what we chose.

The price of the hike with the guide, and it seems, the price to go on the boat as well, was $1000 pesos for groups of 1 to 5 people. We were two people and had we chosen to do the hike by ourselves, we would have had to pay $500 pesos each. In this case, it helps to be a larger group.

When we arrived at the booth, there was another car of two guys waiting there, but they wanted to do the boat ride. We were invited to wait until other cars arrived to complete our groups. We spoke to the guys and ended up convincing them to hike the trail with us. This was great because it ended up saving us both time and money.

We paid our $1000 – they paid $500 and we paid $500, so $250 per person. We signed some pieces of paper and registered on their list, and drove down the town to make our way to the falls.

Now, it is probably possible to tell them that you are camping at Campamiento Tamul, which is right at the end of the dirt road, and you might be able to skip hiring a guide, but once we saw what the guide brought to the table, we were happy to have him along.

First, the fact that we had lifevests was actually quite helpful. We’re both strong swimmers, but the current is very strong, and it helps to have the vest as a safety net. Also, being with someone who can take you the hidden spots, and show you the way in certain sketchy parts was well worth the price of admission. Plus, it’s a great way to support the locals in the area.

Driving to the Campamiento Tamul

After hiring the guide, ours was Alberto, he asked us to stop at the town’s shop, in case we needed to stock up on food and drink. He want to pick up our lifejackets and some local oranges and we started driving down the town. Alberto lead the way on his motorbike, while we followed in our respective cars.

We eventually got to a dirt road. This is the 5-6 km on a dirt road that everyone warns you about. Again, we had rented a small sedan, so we were quite worried. The two guys we met were driving a 4×4 type crossover SUV, and let us tell you, we were all driving at the same speed. The car really didn’t matter at the end of the day.

Sure, the dirt road is not great. It’s basically dirt and rocks that have been patted down to make the road. Was it crazy bumpy? Not as bad as we thought, to be honest. Would it have been better in a 4×4? No, not really. Can you drive fast on it? No. Regardless of the car you have, we were driving an average of 10-15 km per hour.

The drive down to the parking lot is going to take you about 20 minutes driving at a slow speed. No need to rush it. Just sit back, and enjoy the bumpy ride!

At this point, you’ll drive past the gate with the old man with the cowboy hat you probably read about in other articles. Your entrance fee covers what you have to pay him, and what you have to pay at Campamiento Tamul. From what we read, there was over $200 pesos in fees to pay per person, so we feel like we got a pretty good deal considering we paid $250 and got a guide!

Getting to the top of the Tamul waterfalls by foot

After parking your car, you’ll start walking down a trail. Again, having a guide there was helpful as there are a few dirt roads, and it’s not always clear where you have to go.

The hike was about 20-30 minutes long on a pretty well-maintained trail. The setting is gorgeous – you’ll be in the middle of the forest, walking alongside the river (one of the two we mentioned before). At this point, you can stop and jump into any of the pools you want.

You’ll eventually get to an area where there’s a large pool and a lookout area. You’ll get a pretty good view of the top of the waterfalls. After this, the hike gets pretty sketchy.

Getting to bottom of the Tamul waterfalls

This is where the hike gets interesting. Make sure you have sturdy shoes – you don’t need hiking shoes, but you need to have shoes that are solid and that tie up tightly. Make sure you have a backpack with what you need, because you’ll be needing to use both hands going up and down the set of ladder/stairs there.

If you’re afraid of heights, this part will be unpleasant for you. The set of ladder/stairs is a long way down and feels sketchy. Some of the wooden steps are missing, so you have to walk on circular metal rungs. And the ladder/stairs do wobble quite a bit when there are other people on it, so overall, it’s a bit sketchy. But rest assured, you should be fine going up and down these steps.

Once you finish going down these ladder/stairs, about three sets of them, you’ll make it to the foot of the falls. There, you have a natural rock platform where you can hang out and admire the falls. You also have a 5-8 meter ledge where you can jump into the water from.

Swimming at the foot of Tamul waterfalls

This is where you’ll be happy you have your lifevest. You can jump down from the 5-8 meter ledge we mentioned. Once you’re in the water, you swim across to the rocky area. There, you can jump in and out of the water to the very foot of the falls. The view here is absolutely amazing.

To come back to the initial ledge, you have to swim hugging the rocks to minimize the effects of the current. This is where water shoes may be helpful. But if you don’t have any, don’t worry. In our group, none of us, except our guide, had water shoes, yet we all made it out alive. The only reasons water shoes would be nice to have is because the rocks are sometimes slimy and because you’re walking in the water, and can’t really see where you’re putting your feet, the shoes offer nice protection for your toes and the bottom of your feet.

At this point, you can jump in and out of many places. You can also swim in a lagoon-type pool that’s up the river, where the current is not so strong.

Either way, this is a great place to hang out all day. Jumping in, swimming, chilling, and admiring the waterfalls.

What to pack to hike the Tamul waterfalls

Here’s a quick list of what you should bring if you’re hiking to the top of Tamul waterfalls:

• Camera – We had our mirrorless camera and our GoPro.
• Drone – If you have one, bring it. The views are just epic!
• Food – We had our trusty PBJ sandwiches, and Alberto was nice enough to give us some local oranges too.
• Water – Bring as much of it as you can. You’ll need it, especially if you’re here for the day. We love traveling with our Grayl Geopress bottle.
• Backpack – A must considering the “stairs” or ladders you have to hike down. You’ll want to be able to use both your hands.
• Watershoes – Again, if you have them, bring them. We didn’t have them, but in certain parts, we felt like they would have been good to have.
• Travel towel – Although the sun is quite hot, and you’ll probably dry fast enough, we liked having ours with us to dry off, and even as shelter from the sun
• Coral-safe sunscreen – Another must. The sun will be beating down on you for quite a while. Make sure you protect yourself.
• Bathing suit, or bathing clothes – If you want to take full advantage of the water, we highly recommend you wear your bathing suit to this excursion. Or bring water clothes, if you don’t want to wear sunscreen.

Where to stay if you want to visit Tamul waterfalls by foot

We highly recommend you stay in Ciudad Valles if you’re looking to visit Tamul waterfalls by foot, or even by boat. It’s the closest large city to the waterfalls, and it’s only an hour drive to them. In Ciudad Valles, you’ll find everything you need from hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, banks, gas stations and more.

If you opt to go on a tour to visit Tamul waterfall, most of them leave from Ciudad Valles. It’s another great reason to stay in this city.

Booking.com

There you have it! Everything you need to know about hiking to the top and the bottom of Tamul waterfalls. We really hope this article will help you get to this amazing destination safely, and that you’ll be able to enjoy your time there to the fullest. Of all the waterfalls near Ciudad Valles, in Huasteca Potosina, Tamul waterfall was by far our favorite one!

We also hope that this article helped put your mind at ease when it comes to visiting this amazing waterfall! The route there is really not as complicated as it may seem and regardless of the car you have, you should be able to make it to the waterfall just fine!

If you end up going, please let us know what you thought of the place. We really hope it lived up to your expectations!

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