Agua Azul Waterfalls
Cascadas de Agua Azul
Interesting facts
- Below the falls the water continues via the Shumulá and Tulijá rivers into the Grijalva system, one of Mexico's largest river basins.
- Fallen trees in the river slowly turn into stone-like logs as calcium carbonate encases them, and trunks at different stages of calcification line the banks.
- More than 450 bird species have been recorded in the protected area, a large share of all the birds known in Chiapas.
- The area sits in one of Mexico's rainiest zones, where humid winds off the Gulf of Mexico are trapped by the mountain slopes.
- Thin, stony limestone soils cover nearly four-fifths of the protected area, reflecting the calcareous bedrock that also feeds the river's minerals.
Why it is worth it
Agua Azul is not one waterfall but a long staircase of them. In the forested hills of northern Chiapas, where the municipalities of Tumbalá, Chilón and Salto de Agua meet, the Xanil River tumbles through a chain of cataracts and terraced pools, the largest drops only around six metres high but repeated again and again over a long stretch of river. For much of the way the water splits into two channels around small wooded islands, so that the scene is less a single curtain than a maze of foaming chutes, ledges and quiet basins framed by tropical forest.
The name, "blue water", describes the river's best colour. The Xanil carries a heavy load of dissolved calcium carbonate, and where it slows and spreads the mineral is laid down again as travertine, coating rocks, roots and fallen branches in pale, rounded crusts. Over time these deposits have built the natural dams and lips that hold each pool, and the pale limestone floor under clear water gives the river its milky turquoise. The colour depends on the season: in the dry months, roughly November to May, the pools are at their bluest, while in the summer rains the river swells, overruns its terraces and can turn brown with sediment.
The area around the falls was declared a protected zone for flora and fauna in 2000, covering about 26 square kilometres of river and forest. It is also a reminder of how fragile travertine landscapes are: after the strong Chiapas earthquake of 2017 the ground shifted and part of the flow was diverted, leaving stretches of the cascades almost dry, and local residents worked to channel the water back into its old course. Walking upstream along the banks from the lower pools reveals the system at its most varied, with each bend showing a new arrangement of ledges and blue water.
Getting there
The nearest town is Yajalón, about 25 kilometres away, but most visitors come from Palenque: the falls lie roughly 60 kilometres from there along Highway 199 toward Ocosingo, followed by a side road of about 4 kilometres down to the river. The nearest major airport is Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport (VSA) in Villahermosa, about 110 kilometres away in a straight line.
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
The Cascadas de Agua Azul are a series of waterfalls found on the Xanil River in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. They are located in the Municipality of Tumbalá, 69 kilometres (43 mi) from Palenque, near Mexican Federal Highway 199.
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