Cascada El Limon waterfall
You already know that the Dominican Republic is a diverse country full of opportunities to spend time during your vacation. In this article you will read about a place that only confirms the beauty and diversity of this island.
We are talking about waterfalls located on the Samaná Peninsula, more specifically in the part of El Limón (about 20 km from Las Terrenas). Cascada El Limón or Salto el Limón is a place you need to visit. Let's go!
Distance: 20km ~ 30 mins (from Las Terrenas)
Hike to the waterfalls: approx. 3 km ~ 50 mins - 1 hour
Difficulty: medium
Time in total: approx. 4 hours (drive, hike, food, time spent at waterfalls)
Prices:
parking - 200-300 RDS
Entry - 50 RDS/person
Guide + horse ride to waterfalls - approx. 1000 - 1200 RDS/person
You need to take into account that this visit is hiking. You need good shoes - do not hike in flip flops! (you may take some sandals because during you hike you need to cross small river thrice).
There are two ways how you can get there. One road is from Parada Manzana, or the other one is called Parada Maria&Miguel. Parada means something like stopping place in spanish, but in overal it is a parking space, where you can leave your car or scooter. We choose Parada Maria&Miguel. The parking is payed and is costs from 200 - 300 RDS. From this place, you continue on your own. I need to mention the owners (Maria and Miguel), they are locals and were extremely helpful and friendly. They gave us some advice like how we can get to the waterfalls, how much dos it cost etc. They also own local restaurant, and they are able to manage your trip with guide and drive on horse. Meal is included too. (https://www.instagram.com/salto_el_limon_parada_maria/ ) this is their instagram page with mobile contact, you can text her anytime and manage your trip with her help. She is local and speaks only Spanish)
Maria also led us from parking on the right way and explained how we need to continue. We walked approx. 400m through the village. You can see there local dwellings and also you can find there guides with their horses too (if you don't want to hike, you may choose this option with ride on the horse). When you reach the entry point, there is a young girl which sells yor the entry tickets. The price is 50 RDS/person as mentioned above and you pay this just once (don't get fooled when somebody is asking you for payment more than once). After few meters in the forest, you will see the river - we changed our boots for sandals and crossed the river the first time, after a while second time and not longer after that there was the third crossover. Then the hike itself begins. The terrains is pretty uneven and bumpy and little steep. During your walk up, you might meet tourist on horses too.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND to visit this place during or after raining.
After about 40 minutes of hiking up the hill, you will reach beautiful view on a valley and on the ocean too. From this point you need to walk down few meters and then you will see meadow with horses and small buffet where locals sell some food and drinks, also some costume jewellery /Larimal/ and souvenirs. From this place, you need to walk down until you see first, smaller waterfall - just cross the river once again and take few step up the hill and - there you are !
The waterfall itself is just mesmerising in all his majesty. You will be immediately refreshed by a gentle breeze and dripping water radiating from the waterfall. If you want to, you can also swim in the lake right under the waterfall and enjoy this trip to the fullest. Really, wonderful experience.