This post shares everything you need to know about visiting Cascadas de Tamasopo. A set of fun waterfalls in the Huasteca Potosina region of San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
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About Cascadas de Tamasopo
Although not the most natural setting, this was without a doubt the most fun waterfall we visited in Huasteca Potosina!
Cascadas de Tamasopo is developed almost like a waterpark, only with naturally occurring waterfalls and swimming holes instead of waterslides and wave pools.
You could easily spend your whole day here, swimming, jumping, swinging, playing, resting and eating. We had an absolute blast here and spent around 3 hours jumping off platforms, swinging from ropes and swimming under the falls.
There is one main waterfall with a large shallow pool around it, which is the prettiest fall, and probably what you’ve seen photos of.
There are two other large falls with deep pools below them, and this is where you will find the rope swings and jumping platforms.
The park is set up with paths all around, plenty of restaurants, bathrooms and change rooms and even a souvenir shop.
Although it sounds super touristy, and we admit it doesn’t have the natural magic of some of the other falls, you shouldn’t skip this one. It was pure fun and one of our favourite parts of La Huasteca Potosina!
CASCADAS DE TAMASOPO FACTS 🪢
- 📍 Location: Google Maps location
- 💰 Cost to visit: 150 pesos per person + 15 pesos (1 hour) or 60 pesos (daily) mandatory lifejacket rental
- ⏰ Opening hours: Monday – Sunday 8 am – 6 pm
- 💻 Official website: Cascadas de Tamasopo Facebook page
What is La Huasteca Potosina?
Cascadas de Tamasopo are just some 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 HUASTECA POTOSINA EBOOK!
Huasteca Potosina is easily the most underrated place we visited in Mexico.
We still can’t believe how few tourists make the journey to this magical wonderland of waterfalls, but I think a big reason is the lack of information out there.
So, I decided to put together a Huasteca Potosina Travel Guide ebook to help anyone who wants to visit this part of Mexico. This ebook is designed to be a go-to quick reference guide for the region, to help you easily plan your own Huasteca adventure.
This 82-page ebook covers everything you need to know about the region, from the best time to visit, how to get there, the best method of transport to get around and of course the top things to see and do!
You’ll find the best waterfalls, other unmissable attractions, recommendations on restaurants, accommodations and tours, and a 7-day road trip itinerary.
There is also the option to add a customised Google Map that has over 50 locations pinned by category, allowing you to easily visualise our recommendations across the region and map out your route.
Find out more about the guide here.
Where are Cascadas de Tamasopo
Cascadas de Tamasopo is located just outside the town of Tamasopo.
To reach the site by car takes:
- Tamasopo: 5 minutes
- Ciudad Valles: 1 hour
- El Naranjo: 2 hours
How to get to Cascadas de Tamasopo
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.
Although, Cascadas de Tamasopo is actually one of the few waterfalls you can reach with public transport. Most buses heading for Tamasopo will drop you right outside as the falls are on the main highway.
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, 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 actually got lost trying to find Cascadas de Tamasopo which is ridiculous because it is the most obvious location of all of them! It’s on the main road as you come out of the town of Tamasopo, and impossible to miss with all the signs.
However, the location is not obvious on Google Maps. There are three different entries in there, two of them very close together. We went to the wrong one first and then realised the waterfall was NOT tucked down a residential street between some houses.
So here is the correct location for you!
You can drive right to the front gate and park inside (for 100 pesos). Alternatively, we found an empty field across the road where some tour buses were parked, and parked in there for free.
🚗 Depending on how and where you are arriving in the Huasteca Potosina region, you can rent a car from:
By tour
Despite its popularity, there aren’t many tours that visit the Tamasopo Waterfalls. Maybe because it is quite simple to get here via public transport.
There is just one option:
- Full Day Private Tour to Puente de Dios and Tamasopo: this tour visits Cascadas de Tamasopo and Puente de Dios (a great combo location-wise), for a really affordable price. If you’re a group of 3 or more, this private tour is cheaper than most other group tours in the region!
Accessing Cascadas de Tamasopo
Cascadas de Tamasopo is one site that doesn’t require a trek down hundreds of stairs!
The site is flat, open and easy to navigate as it has been developed. There are footpaths everywhere, there aren’t too many stairs, and the falls and pools are easily accessible as soon as you walk in.
If you have any issues with walking, stairs or accessibility, Tamasopo Waterfalls were the easiest we visited in terms of access.
Costs to visit Cascadas de Tamasopo
The fee to enter Cascadas de Tamasopo is 150 pesos per person. It is one of the more expensive waterfalls in San Luis Potosi, but it’s the most developed so it makes sense.
It is mandatory to wear a life jacket here, and lifeguards are enforcing this with their whistles. It is 15 pesos for 1 hour or 60 pesos for all day. We highly recommend getting more than one hour, we were here for at least three!
There are also lockers available that are 30 pesos all day.
Parking is also an additional cost, 100 pesos if you park inside their car park. We found an empty field across the road and parked there for free instead.
Facilities at Cascadas de Tamasopo
Cascadas de Tamasopo is very developed, like a naturally occurring waterpark, and has all the facilities you could need.
There is a variety of snack stalls, restaurants, bathrooms, showers, changing rooms and lockers. I even spotted a souvenir shop here.
I know that sounds like a tourist trap nightmare but if you time your visit outside the peak periods, you can have a lot of fun here!
There are so many fun things set up at Cascadas de Tamasopo to keep you occupied.
There are three main falls to explore and swim under, as well as several other small pools and rivers.
There are a few different jumping platforms at various heights across the falls, a rope swing, and even a few different obstacle-style bridges. Think Wipeout style!
Everything to do here is included in the entrance fee, and there aren’t additional tours to pay for like rappelling, jumping etc. You can make your own way around the park and do any of the activities as many times as you like.
I think we swung on the rope swing about one hundred times, it truly was so much fun.
Activities at Cascadas de Tamasopo
When to visit Cascadas de Tamasopo
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 Cascadas de Tamasopo.
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.
Due to the ease of access, Cascadas de Tamasopo is a very popular waterfall in the region. It is included on all the multi-day bus tours, so be aware you may have some large groups to contend with.
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.
We visited during the week. Although, it was the day after the long weekend ended and we think there were still some stragglers hanging around.
When we arrived bright and early at 8 am we were so discouraged to see two tour buses already parked out the front. But, as soon as we got in (gates didn’t open until around 8:20 am – Mexican time) it felt like we were the only ones there!
Our theory is that a lot of the big tour groups have breakfast included at one of the on-site restaurants, so they were tucked away eating for quite a while.
In addition, the site is really big and open and people disperse around. Many of the locals weren’t swimming either. They certainly weren’t jumping off the platforms or using the rope swings, and we had these to ourselves for almost three hours.
So visit early and visit during the week and you might have the same experience we did (even if it looks busy from the outside!).
Other attractions nearby
There are three main water-related attractions in Tamasopo that are worth combining: Cascadas de Tamasopo, Puente de Dios and El Trampolin.
We would recommend spreading them across two days (as we did), but if you are pushed for time, you could do all three in one jampacked day. They are all within a 20-minute drive of each other.
We highly recommend staying in Tamasopo for at least a night, even if you do squeeze all the attractions into one day, as there are some unique places to stay here.
Skip the town and instead look for something on the river. We had a blast at Cabaña Aventuras, which felt like an attraction in its own right being on the river with rope swings and swimming holes.
Where to stay when visiting Cascadas de Tamasopo
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 in Tamasopo – we recommend spending at least a night in the Tamasopo area to hit the three main sights over two days. But we highly suggest skipping the town and finding some accommodation on the riverfront. There is nothing wrong with Tamasopo, but it is nothing exciting and some of the accommodation options outside of the town are absolutely incredible! We stayed at Cabaña Aventuras and had the best time, swimming in the beautiful river and enjoying their rope swing. However, there is a brand new boutique hotel that has just opened in town that could be just as good! Check out Refugio Huasteco Hotel Boutique.
- 🏩 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.
Cabaña Aventuras
Final thoughts on Cascadas de Tamasopo
Visting Cascadas de Tamasopo was without a doubt one of the funnest things we did in Mexico.
We felt like little kids for a few hours, having an absolute blast jumping from the platforms into the waterfalls, swinging from the rope swings and playing on the wipeout-style obstacle bridges. It was so much fun!
Even though the waterfall is far from natural anymore, we still highly recommend including this on your La Huasteca Potosina road trip!
💦 Looking for more amazing waterfalls to visit in La Huasteca Potosina?
We have a list of the ten best here, as well as comprehensive guides to a number of other falls:
