Cascada Limón — Local services in Samana

A lot of reviews are missing important details, so I'm writing my own! We hiked from Parada La Manzana to the waterfall(s). From this trailhead (there are several routes to the falls) this hike is approximately 1.25 miles one way and features some hilly terrain. Parking at Parada La Manzana was free and we did not have trouble finding a spot on a weekday at 11 am, but I suspect parking fills up quickly on weekends, so get there by 9 am to beat the weekend crowds. Parada La Manzana has some small souvenir storefronts and a nice cafe, which is a great lunch/refreshment spot after the hike. Ignore all the hucksters standing along the road with signs like "Waterfall parking here" and just pull right into the fairly well-marked driveway of Parada La Manzana itself.

The trail was somewhat muddy at the start, dry and firm in the middle, and EXTREMELY muddy near the end. Heavy horse traffic means horse leavings, which are not a big deal to me, but may be to some. The first waterfall you come to via this route is a lovely cascade (15-20 m) that is largely skipped by the crowds who focus on the bigger falls (40 m). Other routes to the main waterfall skip this spot entirely. We had a great time swimming in the first waterfall pool and even behind the waterfall, with only a handful of other people around.

From the first waterfall, the trail continues another 1/4 mile (super muddy!) to the main waterfall. We arrived at a cluster of souvenir booths and a checkpoint, where we were charged 50 pesos (~1 USD) to continue down a long series of steep, but well constructed, stairs (maybe 150-foot decline). The main waterfall is indeed a sight to behold, but you will have to contend with the crowds unless you go very early (maybe 200 people or so when we arrived at 12:15 PM). Ignore the tiresome social media "influencers" posing in front of the falls and just enjoy the natural beauty.

Reviews that state this hike is less than 30 minutes may be referring to another trailhead or to those who speed hike early in the morning before you have to navigate the horse traffic. If you start from Parada La Manzana, plan for the full hike to take about 40-45 minutes down (or over an hour if you are a birder like me) and a little more back up.

Overall, a nice hike and our selected trailhead was not overrun with the aggressive and scammy "tour guides" some other reviewers have complained about. For what it's worth, my wife (a horse owner) said that most of the horses were in decent shape, although it was a mixed bag overall in terms of horse health and horsemanship of the guides. I recommend going on foot, but that means dealing with the mud. I would not recommend hiking this trail after a day of heavy rain (we had scattered showers the day before and it was ok). They should really set up one trail for hikers only and another for the horses, which would improve the experience for everyone.

Summary: Gorgeous waterfalls, go early in the day, wear good shoes you don't mind getting totally filthy, and spend a quieter time at the smaller falls if you don't...

I really want to give this place a five star rating because the waterfall is out of this world and the river is amazing it’s beautiful it’s out of is definitely worth the trip here whether you walk or whether you take a horse here. However I am reading it three stars because there was some scams that go on here that I want to warn you about. If you drive right up to the river itself there is a place where you can rent horses and around that area before you get there there are people in the street even people on motorcycles chasing down the tourists in there Rent-A-Car’s because they’re so obvious and they will try to get you to go with them to the falls. But is a scam. Or maybe it’s not a scam but either way they’re trying to cut off the legitimate businesses who do provide good service. So for the simplicity of this review I would recommend that you go to restaurant Santi Right in the center of the town and they can provide a reliable tour service for you. I will list some of the scams. If you read another review were here they said that they rented a horse and on the way back they were encountered by another group of people who said that they didn’t pay for the horses and that now and they need to pay again. How do you solve this problem ? make sure you get a receipt that explains you have a two way trip and keep it with you . The same thing goes for any parking lot if you’re parking and paying for parking or even if you’re parking for free and you just renting a horse make sure you have them write on your receipt that it includes the parking fee because later when you come back from the ride though play game with you and try to get money for the parking. Definitely do not leave your valuables in the car, leave them in the hotel in the safe do not travel here with any money or valuables on you or in your car. It’s possible that they can break it your car and take them. Also I would say the safest time to go here is early in the morning once the 3 o’clock rolls around I wouldn’t go because you’ll be coming back towards night in which case that could possibly be some shady characters around. Now about the horses. Yes they abuse the horses, the horses the horses are not fed correctly, these Dominicans don’t know how to respect a take care. So if you don’t want to contribute to breaking the horses back on these trails which are very difficult and sometimes scary given to be on a horse because if they fall down you can probably get killed. You can find multiple points of entry to go to the falls. There is another point further to the south where you can walk in easily and you don’t have to go up such a steep hills. I don’t want to make anybody be discouraged About going here because this is a must see in this area but I’m just telling you the possible games that can be played. Above all never go alone. Bring lots of water and possible rain gear because it can rain at...

Before i begin my review i have to state right away, to visit this beautiful site you do not need a guide, nor to pay for parking if you are driving but if you feel compelled to pay for parking because of the pressure the locals are putting on you, I wouldn’t pay more than 100-200 pesos. My partner and I went on our own without a tour guide, we drove to the location in our car. When we arrived we were immediately approached by a man who told us that we were going to need a horse to make it through to the waterfall, after we said that we wanted to walk he insisted on us paying for a guide for the walk. He asked us to pay 1,000 pesos for a guide for both of us. My partner and I have been on hikes and trails all around the world and we felt comfortable going on the hike on our own without the guide. The man then insisted that it was necessary to I pay for a guide because at some point before reaching the waterfall there would be an office requiring payments. He lowered the price from 1000 to 500 pesos for both of us to go on the hike without the guide and without the horse- it was simple and entrance fee. As I gave him the money I instantly regretted it and asked for the money back. We then drove half a mile to another entrance, where a woman approached us and told us that we had to pay 200 pesos for parking but did not have to pay an entrance fee because there is no fee for this waterfall. We paid the 200 pesos for parking. The hike itself was a bit rough because the rocks on the ground have been removed to make it more comfortable for the horses to walk on thus making it less accessible for humans. You should make sure to wear shoes you do not care about or rain boots that can get muddy. The waterfall was beautiful and the water felt great. We walked my a small waterfall before getting to the bigger one, so just keep walking, you’ll know when you have reached the main attraction. When we got back to our car we realized that no one was watching the vehicle and we shouldn’t have paid for parking because even that was free, and regarding “the office” that charges to access the waterfall…. That was a lie. Go enjoy the waterfall! But do not...