Talofofo Falls may be perhaps the most impressive waterfall on Guam, but it evokes a bit of a love-hate relationship among its visitors due to what goes on in the Talofofo Falls Resort Park.

But first, let’s focus on the waterfall aspect as we’re looking at a pair of wide limestone waterfalls each dropping perhaps 5-10m in height on the Ugum River (and strangely enough, they’re not on the Talofofo River despite the name).

While the main pair of waterfalls can be experienced from up close in the park itself, there is a somewhat hidden cascade further upstream that we only managed to witness from the cable car (more on that later).

It’s also worth noting that even further upstream was the Bubulao Falls on the tributary Bubulao River though that one requires a bit of an off-trail stream scramble outside of the boundaries of the Talofofo Falls Resort Park.

Nevertheless, as you can see from the photos on this page, this waterfall definitely holds its own in terms of its size and reliability.

Moreover, it’s definitely one of the more accessible waterfalls on Guam thanks to the developed walkways to experience them once you’ve paid to get into the Talofofo Falls Resort Park (see directions below).

In fact, it only took us about an hour at a very leisurely pace to do the cable car and the loop walk encompassing the waterfalls.

Speaking of the park, this is where there’s a bit of controversy.

Other Attractions in the Talofofo Falls Resort Park

You see, surrounding Talofofo Falls is a series of amusement park-like attractions like rides as well as an interesting Knott’s Scary Farm-like Ghost House attached to the upper cable car station (I suspect the Ugum River powers the station and the house).

The park also once featured caged animals, which really disturbed past visitors due to the animals’ apparent malnourished state, but we didn’t see this on our November 2022 visit so they might have done away with it.

Then, there’s the adults only (19 years of age or older) “Love Land”, which was basically like an erotic outdoor museum of statues in a sort of kamasutra configuration to perhaps inspire adults.

I really thought that this seemed every bit as out-of-place as the other aforementioned attractions considering the main attraction here should be the waterfall.

Now the flip side to these kitschy attractions was that there was a cable car and developed loop walk allowing you to get close to both of the main sections of the Talofofo Falls.

The variety of attractions also might be appealing to visitors who aren’t that into Nature so you could argue that there was something for everyone (which might have been what the developers and owners were aiming for in the first place).

Anyways, the cable car also afforded us the ability to witness a hidden cascade further upstream as well as top down views of the first Talofofo Falls itself.

Opposite the lower cable car station from the Ugum River was the Guam History Museum, which featured model displays (mostly without text) in an inviting air-conditioned building.

The displays depicted scenes like Chamorro life, Spanish occupation, Japanese occupation, World War II, and American occupation.

About a 300m walk from the Guam History Museum was the Yokoi Cave, which was said to be where a Japanese soldier hid in isolation until a Chamorro hunter found him 28 years after the end of World War II.

Although the Yokoi soldier was revered as a hero in Japan, there is a contrarian account that he (and many others scattered in the Mariana Island Chain) may have disobeyed the emperor’s orders of commiting suicide and dying with honor rather than surrendering.

The location of the Yokoi Cave in the park was also suspiciously close to the Ugum River, which would inevitably flash flood and inundate the cave, especially during typhoons or severe tropical storms.

Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how the soldier resourcefully used bamboo to maintain the structure of the cave, and how his will to survive kept him alive for 3 decades despite the mental toll of isolation.

Indeed, overall, we spent about 2 hours in the park, which was enough time for us to be pretty satisfied with our visit.

Authorities

Talofofo Falls resides in the Talofofo Falls Resort Park in the village of Inarajan in Guam. At the time of our visit, it was owned and administered by the Talofofo Falls Resort Park (a private entity). For information or inquiries about the area, current conditions, open/close status, and hours of operation, you can try visiting their Instagram page.