Overview
In most waterfall tours, you’re standing far away on an observation deck and just admiring the view, but not this one… the 7 Waterfalls (Siete Cascadas) tour in Juayúa is real up-close and personal. It was 3 hours full of adrenaline in the Salvadoran jungles: trekking through the jungle, swinging on vines, wading through streams and climbing waterfalls. It was by far my favorite experience in El Salvador — a day filled with adventure and some of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve ever seen.
Offered from Santa Ana or Juayúa, the 7 Waterfalls Hike is located only 20 minutes outside of the town of Juayúa. I signed up for a tour from Rick’s Hostel in Juayúa that only cost $15. There are also many other providers that offer the same tour. The tour takes about 3 to 4 hours and you’ll be able to see 7 waterfalls and 2 chorros (jets in Spanish) including the famous Los Chorros de la Calera.
Despite a bit of climbing involved, the tour isn’t particularly challenging. We even had a woman in her 70s join us on our tour. I would recommend bringing shoes with good traction, clothes you’re comfortable getting wet and sunscreen.
The Experience
We were picked up at our hostel and driven in the back of a large pickup truck for a 30 minute ride outside of Juayúa. We had two tour guides (neither of whom spoke English): a lady leading the tour and a crazy, middle-aged Salvadoran man who was looking to jump off everything possible. We then trekked into the jungle for about 15 minutes. There was a loose vine hanging from the tree so we took turns swinging from them.
We finally got to a stream deep in the jungle. The guides told us to start walking directly through the stream and there was no avoiding getting wet at this point. We stopped to take a group photo with the El Salvadoran flag. The tour guides were obsessed with having us take many group photos so there was no shortage of photos at the end of the tour.
We got to the first waterfall which was miraculous. It was at least 40 feet tall and there was a beautiful glow from the sunlight filtering through the foliage. Our crazy tour guide started running around and showing us rocks that we could slide down. The best part of the tour was having free rein to wander off and stand underneath the waterfalls.
The next waterfall was only a few hundred meters away. Most of the path was walking through the stream and climbing over little boulders along the way. We stopped at the third waterfall and were given a small piece of fruit as a snack.
With no notice, our tour guide started climbing up the next waterfall with no rope. She fastened it to a tree at the top and then we followed her up one by one. It was a short climb of about 200 meters up the waterfall.
Safety standards are a bit different in El Salvador to say the least. We climbed up through the waterfall with no helmet or safety equipment with just a rope attached to the tree. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous at first. However, the rocks were not slippery at all, but surprisingly had good traction. I was glad I brought good shoes, but one guy on our tour did the whole thing with bare feet. Other companies that offer the same tour will actually provide a helmet.
I lost track of the number of waterfalls at this point (seven if I were to guess??). We passed by a set of beautiful, silky thin waterfalls and a waterfall where the water was coming directly out of the cave walls.
We then started to come upon the Chorros (meaning jets in Spanish). I had never heard of this before, but they were essentially really wide waterfalls. The last two had man-made walls which created a pool in front of them where you could swim in.
We finally approached Los Chorros de la Calera. These are the most famous of the waterfalls with crystal-clear blue water. We relaxed here for half an hour, swimming around and climbing into the waterfalls. Some of our braver friends followed the crazy tour guide and jumped off high rocks into the very shallow pool. There was also a very narrow, dark man-made tunnel that the tour guide led us into. Besides the first waterfall, this was probably my favorite part of the trip. Los Chorros de la Calera were not super busy with only 2 other tour groups there.
Our trip ended there and we headed back to town. Leaving around 10am and arriving back at 1pm, this was an action-packed half-day trip in El Salvador, especially if you’re looking for an adrenaline rush. All for $15, this tour was truly worth it. I’ve never had the experience of being so close to waterfalls and also having the freedom to explore. As tourism develops, this tour will probably get busier and have stricter rules (and safety standards) so the experience won’t be the same.