Cascadas de Mismaloya

The Cascadas de Mismaloya are a set of waterfalls in the Sierra Madre foothills south of Puerto Vallarta, at about 640 m above sea level, some 5.5 km east of Mismaloya beach as the crow flies and well beyond El Edén, the riverside park where Predator was filmed. They are not the same as the small cascades and rock slides at El Edén, nor as the Palo María falls closer to town: these lie much higher and deeper in the forest, with no road, no buildings and no vendors anywhere near.

Hikers count three main falls. The first two are the easier ones and most people turn around at the second; the third and tallest, which guides advertise at up to 250 feet (about 75 m), takes scrambling over steep rock and is best left to experienced hikers and climbers, and the site is also used for rappelling. Between the drops the stream runs over boulders into clear pools where you can swim, under thick tropical forest.

This is a serious day out. The route most often logged on hiking apps starts at Mismaloya beach and climbs through the jungle for about 20 km there and back, with more than 1,000 m of ascent, and takes around eight hours. Guided outings shorten the walk by driving into the hills first, for example via Las Juntas y Los Veranos, and then hike about two hours to the falls. Paths are unmarked in places and there is nothing to buy on the way, so a local guide, an early start, plenty of water and food, and sturdy closed shoes are the sensible way to do it.