This post shares everything you need to know about visiting Cascada El Aguacate. A beautiful waterfall in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
This article may contain affiliate / compensated links, that may earn me a small commission, at no extra cost to you. For full information, please see our disclaimer here. While all efforts have been taken to ensure the information included in this post is correct and current, travel information such as opening hours, business operations and prices change frequently. If you find anything in this post that is incorrect or outdated please let me know in the comments so I can update it for other readers.
About Cascada El Aguacate
Cascada El Aguacate is a waterfall located in the Huasteca Potosina region of Mexico, in the state of San Luis Potosi.
This is one of the smaller and lesser-known waterfalls in the area, but that doesn’t make it any less magical!
It’s the second-highest waterfall in the region, dropping over 75 metres off a sheer cliff face, into a vast open canyon below.
The entrance and car park sit above the waterfall, and it was completely unexpected to see the small river suddenly tumble over the edge, splitting off into a few smaller falls near the bottom
You can’t really swim directly below the falls as the pool is small and rocky, and the falls are incredibly strong, even in the dry season! But don’t be discouraged…
Walk just a little further upstream and you will find a stunning blue pool waiting for you to jump in. The water was the most stunning vibrant tone, and completely transparent. I was blown away, it was just magic!
At first glance, the river looks shallow, but there are plenty of areas where it’s deep enough to jump in and swim. We snuck behind the small rocky island in the centre of the pool and had it all to ourselves!
CASCADA EL AGUACATE QUICK FACTS 🥑
- 📍 Location: Google Maps location
- 💰 Cost to visit: 80 pesos (~$4 USD) per person
- ⏰ Opening hours: Monday – Sunday 8 am – 5 pm
- 💻 Official website: Cascada El Aguacate Facebook page
What is La Huasteca Potosina?
Cascada El Aguacate is just one of the many waterfalls found in La Huasteca Potosina.
But what is Huasteca Potosina? Before I go any further, I will explain a little bit more about this stunning part of Mexico.
La Huasteca is a geographical and cultural region that spans seven states in the northeast of the country, along the Gulf of Mexico. This area gets its name from the Huastec people who populated the region at the height of their civilization around 750 to 800 AD.
La Huasteca Potosina is a smaller part of the wider Huasteca region, located in the state of San Luis Potosi.
It spans 20 different municipalities around the state and is a hub for nature and adventure tourism. The region is blessed with unique geography, filled with stunning rivers, vast canyons, caves, thundering waterfalls and lush rainforest.
If you’re a nature lover like we are, this region is simply paradise and it was one of our best surprises in Mexico!
GRAB A COPY OF MY MEXICO TRAVEL GUIDE
To this day, Mexico is the most beautiful country I have ever visited.
After spending 6 months travelling there, I have poured so much time, love and passion into creating the ultimate Mexico Travel Guide eBook to make planning your trip easy!
This 448-page ebook covers over 50 destinations in 7 regions around Mexico, with recommendations for where to eat, stay and play, as well as regional information about climate, transport, and tour recommendations.
You’ll also find our ‘Mexico Travel Survival Guide’ chapter, with information on all the extra stuff you need to consider before travelling to Mexico, like using your phone, managing your money and more.
It’s filled with all our best tips and advice, and beautiful photos to excite and inspire you ahead of your trip to Mexico!
There is the option to add a set of customised Google Maps that have over 1,100 locations pinned by category, allowing you to easily visualise our recommendations across the country.
Find out more about the guide here.
Where is Cascada El Aguacate
Cascada El Aguacate is one of the most remote waterfalls in the region.
It isn’t really close to any major town and sits almost smack bang in the middle of Ciudad Valles, Tamasopo and El Naranjo.
To reach the falls by car takes:
- 📍 Ciudad Valles: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 📍 Tamasopo: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 📍 El Naranjo: 1 hour 30 minutes
How to get to Cascada El Aguacate
GETTING AROUND THE HUASTECA POTOSINA REGION 🚙
La Huasteca Potosina is a large region that spans over 20 different municipalities in San Luis Potosi.
Although there is public transport between major cities and towns around the state, many of the best waterfalls and natural sights are not accessible by public transport.
Cascada El Aguacate in particular is impossible to reach by public transport unless you’re happy to do a lot of walking and hitchhiking.
We highly recommend renting a car for your time in La Huasteca Potosina. This is what we did, and the directions and information we provide in this post will be from the perspective of having your own wheels.
Alternatively, you can consider renting a taxi for a half or full day to take you to one or more of the waterfalls. We would suggest agreeing on a time and price in advance so the taxi driver will wait for you. The cost for a daily rental should be at least 1,000 pesos (~$55 USD), but you’ll need to negotiate.
The other option to visit sights around the region is with a tour. Either a fully inclusive package that includes visits to multiple sites across a few days. Or individual day tours from a home base, which would be Ciudad Valles.
To learn more about navigating the La Huasteca Potosina region, check out our complete travel guide here.
By car
We arrived at Cascada El Aguacate from Ciudad Valles, which took around 1.5 hours.
The drive was pretty straightforward, and the road was paved the entire way, except for the final 5 kilometres. The condition of the roads isn’t great, with lots of potholes and also hidden topes (speed bumps) so it can be slow going.
We had no troubles in our small sedan rental car, just take it easy.
The location on Google Maps is correct, so you shouldn’t have any issues reaching the falls.
💡 A tip from us – after visiting Cascada El Aguacate, we headed north to visit Cascadas de Minas Viejas. You might do the same (or in reverse).
The route suggested by Google Maps had us backtracking south for some time towards Ciudad Valles, before turning onto a road to head north. However, the road that Cascada El Aguacate is on continues north and avoids the need to backtrack.
We decided to take it as it looked like a shortcut, and it cut 15 minutes off the time of the route suggested by Google Maps. The road was unpaved and quite bumpy in places but it was an absolutely stunning drive through the mountains and the sugar cane fields.
So if you’re heading north to Minas Viejas, keep going straight from Cascada El Aguacate.
🚗 Depending on how and where you are arriving in the Huasteca Potosina region, you can rent a car from:
By tour
Cascada El Aguacate is not a usual stop on the tours, and we didn’t encounter any large buses or vans as we did at all the other falls.
There is one local tour company, Ruta Huasteca, that offers a combo tour to El Aguacate and Cascadas de Micos from Ciudad Valles.
Accessing Cascada El Aguacate
The waterfall is inside a large canyon and to get to it, you have to go down!
You walk down over 170 stairs into the lush canyon, with the first set being a spiral staircase set right against the rock face.
It takes less than 10 minutes to get down (the easy part!). And 20+ minutes to get back up the same way with some breaks to catch your breath!
Once you’re down the stairs, there are a few raised walkways and platforms to view the falls, and a well-made, rocky path to get to the pool.
Costs to visit Cascada El Aguacate
The fee to enter Cascada El Aguacate is 80 pesos (~$4 USD) per person. This includes parking.
There is no requirement to rent a life jacket here (as there are at some of the other falls), so there are no additional mandatory costs.
Life jackets were available to rent for a fee if you wish, but we don’t think they are really needed here as you swim in a calm pool separate from the waterfall.
Facilities at Cascada El Aguacate
Cascada El Aguacate was one of the newest and least developed falls when we visited, but they have become quite popular and their facilities have improved.
Due to the layout of the site (aka the steep ass staircase!), there is minimal development around the falls except for the paths and viewing platforms. It feels very natural, and the only disruption to the environment has been to provide access.
At the entry area, you will find a car park, a clean bathroom and change rooms.
They also have a restaurant open at the same hours as the falls for breakfast and food throughout the day. We had some delicious and affordable tacos here.
The restaurant is perched on the edge of the canyon and has the most stunning view over the top of the waterfall. They’ve got some lovely murals around, and plenty of cute artsy photo props.
In terms of activities, the only thing on offer here is viewing the falls, swimming and relaxing!
There are no jumping platforms, rope swings or anything like that. No one was selling any additional tours or activities like repelling that you find at other waterfalls in the area.
I think that is why this site is still quiet and undiscovered. Let’s hope it stays that way!
When to visit Cascada El Aguacate
There are two elements to this question – what time of the year is best to visit the La Huasteca Potosina region in general, and what time of the week is best to visit Cascada El Aguacate.
THE BEST TIME TO VISIT HUASTECA POTOSINA 🌤️
The best time to visit the waterfalls of Huasteca Potosina is between November – March.
By November, the rains have stopped and the weather is mild, and the falls are flowing. It can be a little chilly in the region in the peak of winter, but the waterfalls are at their best.
By the end of March, at the tail end of the dry season, the falls will not be very strong. Some can even close (such as the popular Cascada de Tamul) due to lack of water.
July – October is the wet season, and this is not a good time to visit the region. Although there will be a lot of water and the falls will be thundering down, it can be very dangerous and often impossible to get close to the falls.
You won’t be able to swim or take boats right up close to the falls if there have been heavy rains and many of the rivers flood. Sediment gets churned up and the usually crystal clear blue waters will be brown and muddy.
As with all the waterfalls in the region, visiting first thing in the morning on a weekday is always going to give you the best chance of having the place to yourself.
However, in comparison to some of the other falls, Cascada El Aguacate is definitely less popular and as far as we can tell, it’s not a stop on any of the large tours.
So if your itinerary means you need to visit a waterfall on the weekend, I think this is the best option to avoid big crowds.
We visited on a Saturday afternoon of a long weekend (oops) and there were a few groups of families there but it didn’t feel overwhelmingly busy.
We found our own spot on the rocks to chill out, and at one point we were the only ones swimming in the pool. I can only imagine it would be very quiet to visit mid-week.
Other attractions nearby
As I mentioned, Cascada El Aguacate is in a bit of a funny location, not really close to any of the major towns. But there are a few falls in the general vicinity that you could combine into one day.
When we visited, our route was:
- 🥑 Depart from Ciudad Valles and drive to Cascada El Aguacate (1.5 hours)
- 💦 Continue north to Cascadas de Minas Viejas (1 hour)
- 🚗 Drive onwards to El Naranjo and stay the night (0.5 hours)
Cascadas de Micos is also close by, and if you left Ciudad Valles first thing in the morning (we were a little late!) I think you could also squeeze in a visit to these falls before moving north to Cascada El Aguacate.
Where to stay when visiting Cascada El Aguacate
Where you stay completely depends on how you are approaching your itinerary in La Huasteca Potosina:
- 🏡 Base yourself in Ciudad Valles and do day trips each day; OR
- 🚗 Road trip style, staying in different locations each night
Here are some recommended accommodation choices, no matter which option you’ve gone for:
- 💦 Stay at the falls – it’s possible to set up a tent right on-site at the waterfall, and you would be sleeping literally next to the top of the falls. What an amazing sound to fall asleep to! The managers of the falls also have cabañas for rent just a few minutes up the road, which you can organise via their Facebook page.
- 🏩 Stay in Ciudad Valles – if you’re using Ciudad Valles as a base, we recommend Casa AMMAH for a mid-range option, with exceptional reviews, lovely hosts and a communal kitchen. If you’re on a budget, we stayed at Hostal Casa Huasteca and really loved it. Or if you want a little splurge, Hotel Casa Ortiz is a stunning option with a pool.
- 🍊 Stay in El Naranjo – if you’re road-tripping it, El Naranjo is a logical place to stay after visiting Cascada El Aguacate. There aren’t too many options listed on the online booking platforms, but a quick search on Google Maps and we found some gems. Hotel Bella Vista is located right on the river and offers basic, but charming rooms. We stayed there and couldn’t stop gawking at the incredible blue river right outside our door! Hotel del Valle is a more standard hotel-style option in town and Hotel Tayha is the ‘fanciest’ choice.
Final thoughts on Cascada El Aguacate
Cascada El Aguacate is one of the quietest, and least developed falls in the La Huasteca Potosina region.
We were blown away by the incredible blue pools, and the power of the single-drop fall, even in the dry season.
If you’ve got your own wheels, don’t skip this lesser-known gem!
MORE HUASTECA POTOSINA POSTS
- Huasteca Potosina: Guide to Mexico’s Waterfall Wonderland
- 10 San Luis Potosi Waterfalls to Visit in Huasteca Potosina
- How to Visit Cascada de Tamul, San Luis Potosi: Hike or Boat
- How to Visit Cascadas de Tamasopo: Huasteca Potosina, Mexico
- How to Visit Puente de Dios: Tamasopo, Huasteca Potosina
- Cascadas de Minas Viejas: Best Huasteca Potosina Waterfall
- How to Visit Cascada El Salto: San Luis Potosi, Mexico
