El lemon. Dominican Republic Blogs

01.09.2020

The El Limon Falls is formed by the waters of the Arroyo Chico stream falling from the cliff. Further, from the natural pool at the foot of the waterfall, the Limon River begins.
The waterfall can be reached from the town of Las Terrenas or Santa Barbara de Samana, along the Bulevar Turistico del Atlantico highway.
Initially, the waterfall was called "Admiral's Falls" (La fuente de El Almirante), but with the development tourist route from the village of El Limon, it was decided to rename it, identical to the settlement.
The park surrounding El Limon has been protected since 1996 natural site... Its area is 18 km2.
The amount of water in the waterfall and the lake below it varies depending on the season. Usually in December you can observe the most beautiful, full-flowing stream.

"Noise, noise from a steep summit ..."

The famous cascade and the surrounding rainforest are nestled among the Sierra de Samana mountains, in the northern part of the Samana Peninsula, about 300 meters above sea level. The great popularity of El Limon is due to its relative availability and incredible entertainment. View of the crumbling great height streams the purest water is truly mesmerizing.

And in the natural pool under the waterfall, you definitely need to swim. Firstly, to enjoy the coolness of the mountain river, and secondly, to become richer and fulfill a wish. At least that's what the local belief says. It is not for nothing that the name El Limon is often translated as “Millionaire's Falls” ... A separate pleasure is to get up under the stream of water and experience a powerful natural hydromassage. You should refrain from swimming unless after a heavy rain - the opaque water and mud on the stones around the reservoir are not very conducive to water procedures.

If you are not in the mood for swimming, you can just watch the fantastic jumps from the cliff into the reservoir of local daredevils. Young people make dangerous somersaults with visible pleasure and excitement, but applause and tips, as usual, are welcome.

For a long time, the cascade was considered the largest in the Caribbean - its height is about 40 meters. Now this title is contested by two other Dominican giants - Aguas Blancas, located in Constanta and La Jalda from the province of Ato Major.

Organization of a horse expedition

Horseback riding is the most popular way to get to the falls. 90% of travelers choose this option for their first acquaintance with this natural attraction. Tour operators who organize group excursions to Samana also prefer it. 4 possible routes start from different settlements- Rancho Español, Arroyo Surdido, El Café and El Limón. There is a lot of competition going on between the ranches organizing the tours. Even at the entrance you will be attacked by motorcyclists, riders and pedestrians, inviting everyone to their "establishment".

In fact, they are all the same and consist of a small garden, a stable and a restaurant, where, after returning from a walk or before setting off on it, you can taste simple Dominican village dishes and buy products from local farms - cocoa, chocolate, jams and handicrafts.

It also offers a choice of " vehicle"- mostly these are not horses, but mules. They have a rather miserable appearance, but they are very hardy and not aggressive. However, we advise you to go to the waterfall in the morning, when the animals are not yet very tired. In the set, each participant of the expedition is entitled to a guide - a young man who will lead the "horse" by the bridle, keeping an eye on the safety of the rider and carrying his luggage. A small child, of course, will not be left alone, but will be put in the saddle with them.

It depends on the choice of the starting point whether the walk will start right through the countryside, or whether it will be necessary to cover a short distance along the highway. After driving through the village, you can see the charms of the unpretentious Dominican village life, and then, crossing a shallow river, start climbing the mountains. The path to the top along the rocky mountain trails surrounded by tropical vegetation takes about 30-40 minutes. Be prepared for the fact that the road can be slippery, muddy, and a small section of it runs along the cliff.

Jungle trail

In addition to enjoying panoramic views of the picturesque hills and mountains, the guide is sure to introduce you to the variety of local vegetation. Part of the surrounding flora is an “uncultivated” humid subtropical forest. The rest is fruit trees and bushes planted by people. On the way, you will meet the already familiar coffee, cocoa, mango, bananas, pineapples, as well as rare exotics: “water apple”, guanabana, Dominican spice “biha” and calabash tree, from the fruits of which dishes, maracas and interior items are made.

Having overcome all the difficulties of the path and reaching the final destination, the participants of the excursion find themselves in an equipped observation post with panoramic view to the waterfall and its surroundings. Here you can relax a bit, buy soft drinks or souvenirs. Having parked the horses, then you will have to walk down the stairs down to the river (which usually takes about 15 minutes) and see the second, "small" lower cascade of the waterfall. You will have to force the river on your own, climbing over the stones, or, having resorted to the help of a guide, on his back. After that, there is a small rise - and you are at the goal.

Then you can enjoy the view of the waterfall, swim and watch the jumps of the "guides". If you went here not with group excursion- the guides will give you the opportunity to spend as much time here as you see fit. Then you will need to go the same way - a ford, a staircase (now up!), A gazebo, a horse ride through the mountains - to return to the ranch.

Alternative options for the daredevils

Horseback riding is an optional part of the El Limon trek. You can follow the example of the guides and walk all the way. But this option requires good physical fitness and endurance. The trek to the waterfall and back will take a total of about three hours. The trail can be muddy and wet, with uncomfortable rocky climbs, so you need to think about suitable footwear in advance. The conductors generally use high rubber boots. Local clay mud is very poorly cleaned from clothes, so you should not put on things that are dear to your heart before a walking excursion.

V recent times some agencies began to offer another way to get to the falls - canyoning along the Limon River. This is an increasingly popular type of extreme tourism, which consists in overcoming water and rocky terrain without the help of swimming facilities, through rock climbing, diving and swimming.

Be careful about choosing a horse - it is advisable that the animal does not look too tortured, and it is best to go to the waterfall in the early morning.
Choose comfortable shoes and clothes that you do not mind.
Don't forget your bathing suit.
Take a small amount of money with you "upstairs" so that you can buy drinks and souvenirs in the upper gazebo.
If you don't plan on spending money on drinks, be sure to bring water with you.
Do not forget to leave a tip ($ 10-15) to the conductor - this is the main income of local guys.
Do not hit the road, being unsure of your physical strength and health. It is especially tiring to climb on foot from the waterfall to the horse station on the way back.

The road to the El Limon waterfall, which is located on the Samana Peninsula, near the town of Las Terrenas, is not very convenient for hiking Therefore, horseback riding is an ideal option for visiting the "Millionaire Falls".

The road to the waterfall leads through a very beautiful area, dotted with such unique plants as cocoa trees, red bananas and others. It is also home to many exotic animals. You can get to the waterfall in two ways: through the Terrenas Forest - a Dominican town with its beautiful beaches, and through Samana - the eponymous city of the peninsula.

You should thoroughly prepare for the trip to the waterfall: be sure to spend the night in Les Terrenas or Samana, so that in the morning, relaxed, go on a difficult but very exciting journey. Clothes and footwear should not be new and such that you will not be sorry to throw it away later, because the roads here are dirty and damp. The journey on horseback takes 35 to 50 minutes. The path on foot will start near a small river, from where you can walk straight down to the bowl of the waterfall.

El Limon waterfall

El Limon waterfall is a striking landmark and very popular object tourism on the Saman Peninsula. He is the most high waterfall in the Dominican Republic - the height of El Limon is 50 meters. It is located deep in the jungle, and you can only get to the magnificent natural phenomenon on horseback with a guide - all this is provided on a ranch near the village of the same name.

Locals call El Limon nothing more than “the waterfall of millionaires”. It is believed here that a suitcase full of money can fall on the head of a swimmer in this waterfall. The lake is pretty cool water, however, travelers who have traveled this long and not the easiest way to swim here will be especially pleased. There is a small grotto under the stream of the waterfall. Since the bottom of the lake is lined with sharp stones, jumping into the lake from the rocks is undesirable for safety reasons.

The next point of our excursion was a visit to the El Limon waterfall. In the Dominican Republic, this is not just a visit to a waterfall, it is a whole ritual in which all the locals and horses from nearby villages are involved. Tourists are brought to a designated place, where they are fed and watered by themselves) There are also a couple of souvenir shops and a necessary thing for a tourist - toilets.

We were lucky with the weather. It was sunny and quite cheerful. But they say it often rains there.

All arriving excursions are brought to a special pedestal, from where tourists are loaded onto horses.

I am afraid of horses and they think of me too) In this case, a guide is attached to each horse. More precisely, each guide has a horse, decorated with a seat made of ribbons so that tourists on steep paths do not beat their asses off, and lives on the tip that he earns from the cab.

Therefore, there is no need to run after horses and guides. They will find you themselves. And do not be afraid that you will get off your horse at the waterfall, and then you will not be able to find your horse (well, and the guide at the same time). The guides tenaciously follow their clients and will immediately draw when you get off the trail from the waterfall to the landing site.

Before boarding a horse, all tourists change into rubber boots. Better not to show off, but to change your shoes. Since there is red clay soil, which gets dirty when it rains, or just near the waterfall. And during the rain, I would not want to be there at all)

For the same reason, you should not refuse to climb the horse from the pedestal. They say there was a case when a tourist slipped on the clay while jumping on a horse and broke his arm.

After the tourist has climbed on the horse, the guide takes it away and leads in the direction of the waterfall.

Through a very picturesque forest, which seems to be also a national park.

You can load some things on the guide. He will drag them. If you suddenly want to dance, the guide will be on your side.

The guide quickly saw that I was interested in bromeliads and tried to show them on the branches of the trees. And then we smelled a strong scent of jasmine. It hung like a cloud in the air. It turns out that this is the smell of flowering coffee trees. The guide handed me a plucked branch covered with delicate white flowers.

The people around him are like on Red Square!

El Limon Falls are streams of water falling from a great height without fancy. If there were no people there, it would be interesting.

But to such a famous tourist place The Dominican Republics bring a bunch of excursions. There is a traditional excursion bike that those who swim in Limon will become rich. Another lighter option is to rub your pockets with water.

I love swimming in waterfalls. This is an absolutely fantastic experience! But there were so many people here that I even wanted to change traditions ...

In the end, I made up my mind. And then she would regret ... The leg touched the icy water. Horror! Gathering my courage, I dived into the water. After all, they don't have a steam room in the Caribbean either.

The cool water immediately washed away all the hardships of today. It became so easy and good! I swam under the elastic jets ... In general, they say that this should not be done. Since a stream of water falling from a height can bring stones with it ... But the sensations are certainly fabulous! As if it washed away 10 years from itself. (in the photo below - not me!))

Swimming in this waterfall is not worth speeding up. They say that there are stones sticking out under the water that do not reach the surface. And you can run into them. But if you swim slowly, then everything is just fine!

After some time, the bulk of the people moved back.

To be honest, I was openly against excursions on horseback, because I don't know how to ride, you can't take pictures from a horse and you won't see much. But when we got out of the waterfall, I appreciated the idea of this event, as I realized that I would not have walked back.

Some horses too greedy owners frankly feel sorry for. When an unfortunate animal on bending legs carries a carcass of under 150 kilograms.

I got a hefty horse. And he wanted to ride! Not for me. The trail to the El Limon waterfall is clearly not Champs Elysees... This is a clay trail, broken in the rain and in places frozen in place, dotted with stones. The path goes down and up ... Darling pranced ahead. His guide pranced after him. My guide followed them! And, damn it, my horse! Because my guide understood that my hazband was his tip. And if the Husband gallops forward, says goodbye to his guide on the spot and gives a tip, then my guide can only stay with my grateful smile, and this is not quite what he was counting on.

We galloped back to the station (don't worry. Not a single guide was hurt. Everyone got their tip), changed our shoes and until everyone got together, we had free time... And what are the tourists? They sat and waited for our bus to leave. Then they saw that I was taking pictures and also crawled out with cameras. And there was something to shoot. The nature of the Dominican Republic is very interesting! For example, bromeliads grow there.Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) form a family of monocots, consisting of shrubs or herbaceous perennials, terrestrial or epiphytic, growing in the tropical and temperate regions of America (with the exception of one species west of Africa).

The world's most famous bromeliad plant is pineapple ( Ananas comosus). The culture is native to South America.

Picturesque horses in these ribbons grazed on the meadow.

Tulip trees burned like a fire of scarlet flowers. Somehow I had no luck with them. Wherever I go is not the season. And here there were a lot of them.

Orchids, full participants in the Dominican Flower Festival ...

Then we boarded the bus and went to the eco-hotel "Paraiso Cano Hondo"

The famous El cascade Salto del Limon and the surrounding rainforest are nestled in the Sierra de Samana Mountains, in the northern part of the Samana Peninsula, about 300 meters above sea level. The great popularity of El Limon is due to its relative availability and incredible entertainment.

The view of the streams of the purest water falling from a great height is truly mesmerizing.

And in the natural pool under the waterfall, you definitely need to swim. Firstly, to enjoy the coolness of the mountain river, and secondly, to become richer and fulfill a wish.

At least that's what the local belief says. No wonder the name El-Limon is often translated as "Millionaire's Falls".

A separate pleasure is to get up under the stream of water and experience a powerful natural hydromassage. You should refrain from swimming unless after a heavy rain - the opaque water and mud on the stones around the reservoir are not very conducive to water procedures.

If you are not in the mood for swimming, you can just watch the fantastic jumps from the cliff into the reservoir of local daredevils.

Young people make dangerous somersaults with visible pleasure and excitement, but applause and tips, as usual, are welcome.

For a long time, the cascade was considered the largest in the Caribbean - its height is about 55 meters. Guides and some travel sites mislead tourists that this waterfall is the highest in the country.

In fact, for a long time, the highest waterfall was considered Aguas Blancas, 83 meters high, located in Constanta... However, recently, in province of Hato Major the waterfall La Jalda was discovered with a height of 121 meters. Thus, the El Limon waterfall is only in third place in height.

How to get to El Limon waterfall

Four possible routes start from different localities - Rancho Español, Arroyo Surdido, El Café and El Limón.

There is a lot of competition going on between the ranches organizing the tours. Even at the entrance you will be attacked by motorcyclists, riders and pedestrians, inviting each one to his own "establishment".

It also offers a choice of "vehicle" - mostly not horses, but mules. They have a rather miserable appearance, but they are very hardy and calm.

In the set, each participant of the expedition is entitled to a guide - a young man who will lead the "horse" by the bridle, watching over the safety of the rider and carrying his luggage.

A small child, of course, will not be left alone, but will be put in the saddle with them.

It depends on the choice of the starting point whether the walk will start right through the countryside, or whether it will be necessary to cover a short distance along the highway.

After driving through the village, you can see the charms of the unpretentious Dominican village life, and then, after crossing a shallow river, you will start climbing the mountains.

The way to the top along rocky mountain paths surrounded by tropical vegetation takes about 30-40 minutes. Be prepared for the fact that the road can be slippery, muddy, and a small section of it runs along the cliff.

Having overcome all the difficulties of the path, and reaching the final destination, the participants of the excursion find themselves in an equipped observation post with a panoramic view of the waterfall and its surroundings. Here you can relax a bit, buy soft drinks or souvenirs.

You will have to force the river on your own, climbing over the stones, or, having resorted to the help of a guide, on his back.

After that, there is a small rise - and you are at the goal ...

Then you can enjoy the view of the waterfall, swim and watch the jumps of the "guides". If you did not go here as part of a group excursion, the guides will give you the opportunity to spend as much time here as you see fit.

Then you will need to go the same way - a ford, a staircase (now up!), A gazebo, a horse ride through the mountains - to return to the ranch.

Recently, some agencies began to offer another way to get to the falls - canyoning along the Limon River. This is an increasingly popular type of extreme tourism, which consists in overcoming water and rocky terrain without the help of swimming facilities, through rock climbing, diving and swimming.

Waterfall with interesting name El Limon nestled in the jungle paradise island, is not included in the ratings of the highest or most powerful waterfalls on the planet. Its height is only 55 meters. El Limon has other advantages: it is an amazingly beautiful creation of nature!

The peculiarity of the waterfall is in its numerous cascades and the translucency of the falling ribbons of water. El Lemon seems to be woven from a veil!

El Limon is located on a mountain covered with lush tropical greenery. The shape of the waterfall makes it look like an arch. From a distance, El Limon looks like a blue window that nature has created on green mountain... An incredible sight!

The closer you come to El Limon, the more it looks like a portal to other worlds. The 55-meter arch is woven with iridescent, flowing, translucent streams. It seems, step behind this muslin curtain - and you will find yourself in another, fantastic universe ...

But now you, having overcome the dense jungle on a horse or a mule, get to the foot of a tropical waterfall. Now you can enjoy the cool splashes and view the delightful cascades up close. El Limon may be small by the standards of its fellow giants, but for a tourist who finds himself at the foot, it looks impressive. The height of the waterfall is a 15-storey building. But the water does not rush down in a direct stream, but jumps over the rocky ledges, throwing a picturesque veil over the green slopes.

The waters of El Limon fall into a turquoise lake. Its color is dense, bluish-green. The lake looks like a piece of turquoise. Several cascades of El Limon, playing and shimmering in the sun, plunge into the calm surface of the lake. You can swim!

And around - a real Eden: tropical flowers are fragrant, exotic birds fill the air with chirp. Green slopes rise all around. The jungle preserves this oasis from the uninitiated ... The lake, grotto and waterfall seem to be cut off from the whole world. A kind of lost world.

In the Dominican Republic, this waterfall is called either El-Limon, or Salto-Limon. He also has a third name: "the waterfall of millionaires." It is not entirely clear why it is named that way, but some assumptions can be made. Probably for local residents tourists who come to relax at a waterfall in the heart of the jungle seem to be very rich people (which they often are). They also say that from time to time suitcases with money fall on the heads of those swimming in the lake with spray. I would like to check it myself, right?