Waterfalls
Below the village of Miremani splashes this rather small waterfall almost straight into the sea. In words it might sound amazing, but the reality is more modest. The locals charge a small fee, which seems reasonable since they made a staircase down to it, and it's the only cut they get from the small trickle of tourists to the area. The waterfall lies a 20-minute walk from the village of Ouallah 2/Sambadjou Beach.
A few kilometres inland from Ouallah 2 is a very pretty and secluded waterfall. The source of this waterfall is a lake much further uphill that is also the source of drinking water for all the villagers. The easy trek to the waterfall brings you through jungle-like forest and is very interesting in itself, but the reward is the view at the foot of the fall, with its abrupt drop and small pond and its foot. Should you be able to withstand the cold water, you can swim in the pond before going back to the village.
Chaudiere Pool is a deep swimable hole below a small waterfall hidden in the jungle. Locals will assure you that's OK to dive in form the surrounding cliffs. Chaudiere is sometimes referred to as the "Emerald Pool of the north", though the two pools are very different. At Chaudiere it's all natural, no entrance ticket, no boardwalks, no rails, just the river, cliffs and the rainforest. With a 4x4 you can drive as close as 10-minute-hike from the pool. Ask for direction when getting to the village of Bense.
Dominica is blessed with several amazing waterfalls. The waterfall at Emerald Pool is among the most beautiful ones. The water cascade gentle over the top of a grotto into a cool crisp natural pool, which is perfect for a refreshing dip on a hot day. To get to it, you need to follow a trail for about 10 minutes through the lush rainforest in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, an UNESCO World Heritage site itself. If you're unlucky with the timing, you might have to share the pool with a busload of cruise tourists.
Probably the most stunning waterfalls on Dominica. Trafalgar Falls consist of two separate waterfalls cascading down a 60 m high sheer rock face covered in jungle. There is a viewing platform, which is easy accessible, from where both waterfalls can be seen. If you want to get up close, you need to climb the big slippery boulders at the bottom. The lower and more gentle waterfall of the two, the one to the right, has a deep pool at the base which is nice for a chilled dip. As a bonus, there is a creek and several natural jungle pools of hot spring water below the platform, which are perfect for a soak.
One could classify waterfalls into 2 categories: there are powerful, blow-you-away falls, and there are chilled out bathing in the mist kind of falls. In the middle of the tropical forests, across streams and over hill lies El Salto del Limon. Any trip to the lesser visited Samaná Peninsula will almost certainly involve a trip to the falls. Getting there can be half the fun as most visitors opt to hire a horse to navigate the rather muddy and wet trail. Once there, although you won't be alone, going for a bit of a swim and showering in the picturesque falls is a wonderful reward after the trek here.
The cloud forests in the eastern part of Ecuador make up for some of the birthplaces of the mighty Amazonian rainforest. Waters here eventually trickle, little by little, down to the Amazon basin. Well, the water all trickles except for the thunderous San Rafael Waterfalls which has a drop of 150 m. Not frequently visited, the falls are the largest known falls in the country. Viewing areas are easily accessible from the main road heading up to Lago Agrio. However, due to some unsavoury (read dangerous) activity in the region, few people make it out this way. The falls are well developed, with trails and viewing platforms. Sadly, with a hydro-electric dam planned for a bit upstream, the days of the mighty falls are certainly numbered, a real shame. See it now while you can.
An amazing 5 km walk which first follows some of Fiji's most beautiful coastline for then goes through a lush valley before ending at a gushing waterfall with a cool natural pool. A second hidden waterfall can be reached if you swim between the sheer walls to the last pool right below the big waterfall. You can jump from both waterfalls, but let a local show you first. The trail is well beaten and pass villages, white sandy beaches, black sandy beaches, and across rivers. About halfway are some black rock "mushrooms" where the coral base has been eroded. You have to come back the same way, making it a 10 km hike, which normally takes about three hours for the return journey, but you could easily spend more time swimming.
Three dramatic waterfalls which plunge out from the green jungle into refreshing chilled pools. With a 24 m drop the first waterfall is the talles and lies just an easy stroll from the simple visitor centre. The second waterfall is about another 30 minutes hike along the well marked trail through the jungle (two options; bush walk or river crossing). The third waterfall (pictured) is another 20 minutes hike from the second. The last part can be seriously slippery and muddy when wet, so be careful. The jungle trail is easy to follow as there are steps, rails and even ropes. A rushed return trip can be done in two hours, though the information board states three hours.
Close to the border to Togo lies Wli Falls, which is known as the tallest waterfall in West Africa. It's a spectacular sight, no matter whether you scramble all the way to the top waterfall or just swim in the pool at the lower waterfall. The flat trek to the lower waterfall takes about 45 min from the entrance through lush gardens and woods. The top trek is a different story. About 4 hours return scrambling up a mud trail through trees and bushes. However, if you don't want to do the full top trek, there is nice viewpoint of the top fall about 15 mins up the trail.