In Yelapa, near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, there are two waterfalls, but one is secret. Everyone will tell you about the Yelapa waterfall, but they’re all talking about the one in town. There’s another bigger, better waterfall if you dare to hike to it.
I didn’t learn about the secret waterfall until after I met my Airbnb group at the Malecon pier to tour Yelapa. It was just me, the guide, Carla, and two Americans from Colorado as we made our way through town to the bus stop. We all hit it off right away and the conversation flowed easily the entire way on the bus to the small fishing village, Boca de Tomatlan. There, while we waited for a water taxi, we watched a group of women prepare the beach for a wedding that was set to take place that night. By the time we caught our boat, we were great friends, and the wedding looked like it was going to be spectacular.
Panga Boat Rides
The boat ride to Yelapa was on a small rowboat-type boat called a panga. These boats hold about 20 people. Rules and regulations in Mexico aren’t like the United States (There is no place like the U.S. when it comes to rules and regulations). On this boat, there were no lifejackets or safety precautions mentioned or observed. I’ve now been on several boats in Puerto Vallarta of many sizes, going to various places and run by other people and safety has never once been mentioned. It’s just not something they worry about and frankly, it’s liberating. We spend so much energy fretting about every possible terrible thing in America. It’s exhausting.
Our boat coasted along the rocky shoreline, bumping off the waves in the rough water and then a surprise happened. About 100 feet away from my side of the boat, a stingray jumped about five feet out of the water and flipped its triangle body in the air. Me and a few other people who saw it shouted uproariously.
I looked it up later and learned rays jump out of the water like that to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites – also, they do it just for fun. So who knows? I was happy to witness it and glad our boat wasn’t any closer.
We stopped at Quimixto Town to let some passengers off and to board others. I watched with amused delight as people struggled mightily against the rocking of the small boat to walk through people, over benches and balance well enough to get to and from the dock and boat. None of us were very graceful, except for the panga captains who pranced about like gazelles.
Yelapa Town
After about 45 minutes, we made it to Yelapa, where the captain pulled up to the sandy shore and we hopped overboard into the water.
Yelapa is a small town with few locals. They make the bulk of their income from tourists like me, so they were waiting for us to get off the boat and start their workday. The things they do and sell are not typical to an American. Some things they sold:
- Hair braiding
- Beachside foot massage
- Bracelets with racy slang embroidered on them
- Pie from a bowl filled with various types
- Entertainments like magic shows or music playing
- Allow you to hold a massive 20-pound iguana named Pedro for 50 pesos
- Illegal substances
- A nice Mexican lunch
I didn’t make any of that up. We were approached for each of these and more before we were halfway up the beach.
Walking through Yelapa
We made our way through the town and toward the jungle. Yelapa, like all the little towns in and around Puerto Vallarta, is beautiful in a primitive and messy sort of way.
We walked around broken concrete, depilated houses, horses, chickens, and lots of manure. There aren’t any cars in Yelapa, so the only transportation is donkey or ATV; thus, there is dung everywhere.
After walking across all sorts of random piles of rocks and debris, we crossed a low river. There, we saw a man on a horse and Carla talked to him in Spanish for a while and told us she was asking about the other waterfall. The man, she said, had told her it was a 20-minute hike in the other direction.
“Do you want to go? We can find it,” she said.
We looked at each other and said yes. I’m always up for an adventure. The only thing I didn’t consider was that Mexican minutes and American minutes are very different things, but we were about to learn.
Mexican Minutes
There is a running joke in Mexico that time is variable. Appointments and timeframes are fluid. Things may happen at the agreed-upon time, or they might not. A repairman who is supposed to show up at 1 pm might. He also might show up at another time near 1 pm, 5 pm or maybe 9 pm. He might not show up at all. When you go on a tour that is slated to end at a specific time, it may or may not. There’s no way of knowing.
I once waited in a shuttle for 10 minutes and the driver came back and said the wait would be about five more minutes. So I asked, “Actual five minutes?” and he said, “Probably Mexican five minutes,” meaning up to 30 minutes or some other unknown amount of time. I thanked him and grabbed a cab instead.
Hiking to the Yelapa Waterfalls
So, not considering Mexican minutes, we began our hike to the secret waterfall in the opposite direction. Carla said she’d heard of this waterfall before but had never been to it and that it’s not well known or visited.
The trail was relatively easy and seemed straightforward. We just had to follow the river up. We had to cross the river two more times, but the trail was easy to see and follow as it made a gradual incline.
After about 30 minutes, four donkeys blocked the trail. It’s a good thing they did, too, or we might not have noticed the sign. At this point, the trail began to meander away from the river and a barbwire fence kept us away. But, next to the donkeys was a sign with an arrow that said, “Waterfall.” It pointed through the fence and we saw that there was just enough room to squeeze through if you were very careful. It was spiked with barbs all the way around and we had to take off our backpacks and go slowly, but we got through unscathed.
Then we hiked for about 30 more minutes into the jungle. By now, we were making jokes about Mexican minutes, realizing our error. Still, we were having fun and enjoying the call of the birds as they soared overhead, with enormous tails and bright colors. Small geckos peeked out from the foliage and iguanas could be heard rustling in the trees above.
Lost in the Yelapa Jungle
We could still hear the river, but the trail became narrower every few minutes. Eventually, we were climbing over rock outcroppings, swatting spider webs out of our faces, and getting scraped by the prickly plants that blocked our path. As the trail became almost unnavigable, we realized we were lost. Not lost, but that we were off trail. (This is precisely how people die on hikes. Once you’re in deep enough, it can be impossible to tell one way from another.)
Luckily for us, we just turned around and took the trail back the way we came. At a certain point, we saw another, more well-cleared trail off to the right and took that one. It was immediately obvious this new trail was the correct one as it led us back toward the river.
Within a few minutes, we could hear the waterfall and our spirits lifted and our pace increased – as much as it could – there were more boulders and rock outcroppings to navigate the closer we got to the falls. It ended up being more of an expedition than expected as we scrambled around the rocks, vines and low branches. But then, suddenly, there was a giant waterfall right in front of us.
Yelapa Secret Waterfall
A few French people at the falls were swimming in the clear, cold water, and we joined them. How they found this place, I can’t imagine.
This waterfall was surrounded by tall rock and fell about 100 feet into a blue-green pool before flowing down an embankment into the river. It was bigger than the one I’d seen in Quimixto a few weeks earlier and, in fact, among the biggest I’d seen in the wild in recent memory. I walked down the makeshift stone stairs into the icy cold water. After more than an hour hiking in the humid jungle, it was a frigid feeling and wonderful.
I swam with all my strength as close as I could get to the big thing, turned around, dug my feet into sandy earth and let the water pummel my back like a massage. Staying like that, I watched while the French people took posed photos on the rocks and in front of the falls, their skimpy bathing suits leaving nothing to the imagination. In my next life, I hope to have French confidence, if even only for a day.
We sunned ourselves on the rocks enjoying the spray and swam in the pool, but eventually, we made our trek back toward town. After about an hour, we found ourselves back at the start of the trail to the other waterfall, so we took it.
The trail to the Yelapa Town Waterfall
This trail was primarily paved in cobblestones and became more civilized (I used the word compared to a wild jungle) as we walked. It was untouched by modern problems.
The path through was easy and upward sloping. It took us through the outskirts of town. We passed children on donkeys, men making deliveries on ATV, and many dogs and roosters that either greeted or warned us to keep going.
At one point, we passed through a downtown area where old women sold textiles, pottery and jewelry. We stopped at a small store and bought cans of Corona. We kept walking, beers in hand and about 30 minutes later, we found the waterfall. It was taller but much smaller than the other. We stood among the other people who walked from town and admired the waterfall, taking pictures and enjoying its spray. Though lovely, this waterfall was much more public and touristic.
Beach Lunch
Back at the beach restaurant. We had a great dinner accompanied by a magic show from a roaming performer that was among the best I’d ever seen. He’s a local and worth engaging.
Pro tip: Yelapa is known for its pie. Ask for the pie lady. She sells a variety of pie by the piece, and you’ll be so glad to try it.
Eventually, well beyond the end of our tour, the last water taxi of the day was leaving, and Carla and I had to be on it. The couple was staying on the island for the night. So, we walked across the beach to the dock and after a few minutes, the boat arrived. It had just enough room for us. We rode across the water into the setting sun.
Happily Ever After
As we pulled up to the dock, the wedding we’d seen earlier was taking place. There were a few dozen people and the beach was glowing with golden firelight. The bride and groom stood at the front near the water. The chairs were covered in white cloth and flowers were everywhere.
Carla bummed us a ride from one of the men she knew from Yelapa who’d come back on the same boat. He had a car nearby and gave us a ride back, saving us an extra 15 minutes on the bus. We took the ride happily and continued our conversation as we drove down the road, through the jungle, alongside the ocean into the darkening night.
Find other Mexico stories here.
See 10 things to do in Puerto Vallarta here.
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