Palenque was our last stop in the state of Chiapas. Besides the Maya ruins (there is a separate post about them, the jungle and Aluxes Ecopark: Palenque – Maya ruins, the jungle and Aluxes Ecopark), the other “must see” of the area is its waterfalls. The Agua Azul cascades are about 62 km from Palenque, and the Misol-Ha waterfall 21 km. Even without a car you can see both in one day – you just have to set off as early as possible (around 9 a.m. at the latest). We went on 10 November 2023.
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The Agua Azul cascades
Agua Azul (“blue water”) is a series of cascades on a river flowing over limestone steps in the middle of tropical forest. In 2023 the rainy season dragged on a bit, and just a week earlier the water had been greyish-brown instead of blue. Luckily we got a beautiful blue, great weather – sunshine and 32°C – and a swim between the cascades.
The swim lasted only until it was interrupted by the children of the nearby saleswomen – they kept asking for money, and then several times came worryingly close to our backpacks. At that point we moved somewhere else. Unfortunately this pestering can be off-putting, and this kind of begging is widely practised and tolerated in the area. Interestingly, walking along the many cascades, we met more vendors than tourists.
Misol-Ha waterfall
On the way back to Palenque we stopped at the Misol-Ha waterfall. You get off the colectivo at a junction, from where you still have to walk about 1.5 km.
The waterfall is 35 metres high. The falling water forms a pool you can swim in, and like Agua Azul it is surrounded by tropical vegetation. A path also lets you walk behind the curtain of water – at the risk of getting wet.
The ride back, in turn, was a crash “course” in Spanish – the driver really wanted to chat and talked to us the whole way, and we understood only part of it. He kept insisting on driving us… to the waterfalls we had just come back from, and when he asked about pretty Polish girls’ names, I understood that I was supposed to list pretty Mexican ones. I was looking forward more and more to the Spanish course in Guatemala. Both waterfalls are shown in the video:
3:49Getting there, prices and tips
Prices from November 2023 (euro amounts are approximate, at the exchange rate of the time):
- Where the colectivos leave from – in Palenque, from the place marked on Google Maps as “Transportes Jaguar Palenque” (5a. Pte. Sur 17, San José).
- Palenque → Agua Azul junction – a colectivo towards Ocosingo, 60 MXN (about €3.30). From the “Camino a Cascadas de Agua Azul” junction a taxi goes to the waterfalls themselves (it is usually already waiting there) – 30 MXN (about €1.60) one way. Ours was driven by a teenage boy – it surprises you at first, then not anymore.
- Safety – in 2020 a Polish coach with tourists was robbed on this route; good thing I only found out about it afterwards. We travelled by day, by colectivo, and had no trouble at all.
- Agua Azul → Misol-Ha – colectivo 50 MXN (about €2.80), then 1.5 km on foot from the junction.
- Misol-Ha → Palenque – colectivo 50 MXN (about €2.80).
- Tickets – Agua Azul: 40 MXN to enter the park area and 40 MXN to get to the cascades (about €2 each); Misol-Ha: a 10 MXN “tax” for road maintenance and 20 MXN admission (about €0.50 and €1.20). According to some accounts online, other people paid more for Misol-Ha.
- When to go – it is best to visit Agua Azul after a few days without rain: the water level and its colour depend on it. After rain the water can be brown, and you may be badly disappointed.
- What to remember – swimwear and a towel, because you can swim at both places, and keep an eye on your backpacks while swimming.
