Salto Collazo

Lares, San Sebastian, Puerto Rico

About Salto Collazo


Hiking Distance: about 1/4-mile scramble round-trip (both falls)
Suggested Time: allow about 30-45 minutes

Date first visited: 2022-04-17
Date last visited: 2022-04-17

Waterfall Latitude: 18.33308
Waterfall Longitude: -66.94904

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Salto Collazo can be either a convenient roadside waterfall or a bit of an adventure for something a bit more.

You see, this is really a pair of waterfalls on either side of the road bridge along the PR-111 between the towns of San Sebastian and Lares in Western Puerto Rico.

Salto_Collazo_067_04172022 - Salto Collazo
Salto Collazo

For most passerbys driving this route, the upper waterfall is easily seen right from its colorful road bridge though there’s also a short path leading down from the left side (looking upstream) of the bridge going right to the bottom of this upper tier.

Experiencing the falls in this manner only takes a few minutes provided you’ve managed to park at one of the informal pullout spaces around the bridge.

The only catch is that since it’s a west-facing waterfall, you might be looking right against the morning sun as we did during our visit.

Now if you’re observant, you might also notice (and hear) another waterfall on the downstream side of the road bridge.

Salto_Collazo_027_04172022 - Looking downstream across the base of the upper drop of the Salto Collazo Waterfall
Looking downstream across the base of the upper drop of the Salto Collazo Waterfall

Unfortunately, this lower drop of Salto Collazo is harder to see, and it turns out that getting in front of this part of the waterfall requires some work.

How To Reach The Lower Salto Collazo Waterfall

I figured out that in order to get down to the bottom of the mysterious Lower Salto Collazo Waterfall, I had to go down a narrow road on east side of the bridge.

Then, as I descended the road, I looked to the right in search of a use trail that might get me down to the bottom of the falls without doing a fatal cliff plunge.

As much as the litter that I noticed in the jungle alongside the road (as I suspected some locals have used as a dumping ground), this litter actually hinted at the path that ultimately got me to the bottom relatively safely.

Salto_Collazo_085_04172022 - As shameful as the amount of litter along the scramble to the bottom of Salto Collazo, it actually hinted to me where people have been before, and thus it ironically helped me to find the safest way down there
As shameful as the amount of litter along the scramble to the bottom of Salto Collazo, it actually hinted to me where people have been before, and thus it ironically helped me to find the safest way down there

Although the path was narrow, overgrown, muddy, and steep in spots, I managed to get to the stream a bit further downstream from the base of Salto Collazo (but still maintaining a visual on it), and then I scrambled upstream.

Right at the base of the falls was a fairly large and secluded plunge pool fronting a vertical drop (I’m guessing is at least 35m or more) with a morning glow on the underside of the road bridge right above it.

If not for more litter (including discarded plastics and broken bottles) finging the plunge pool of the falls, this was actually a really nice spot as I’d imagine far fewer people make it down here than up by the upper waterfall.

Overall, this scramble took me around 15-20 minutes in each direction.

Salto_Collazo_053_04172022 - Hint of the bottom of Salto Collazo once I finally scrambled down to its stream
Hint of the bottom of Salto Collazo once I finally scrambled down to its stream

During most of that time, I spent it route-finding while wondering if I was trespassing or not (the litter around here suggested that no one assumed ownership here).

Authorities

Salto Collazo resides in the municipality of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico. I couldn’t tell if access to this waterfall involved going through private property, but it didn’t seem to be protected by a reserve nor any official authority.

Salto_Collazo_002_04172022 - Looking towards the pullout where we stopped the rental car nearby the Salto Collazo bridge
Salto_Collazo_018_04172022 - The pleasing and convenient upper drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_013_04172022 - Semi-long-exposed look at the upper drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_025_04172022 - Looking across the base of the upper drop of Salto Collazo back towards the PR-111 road bridge
Salto_Collazo_029_04172022 - Angled look up at the upper drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_033_04172022 - Looking back at the short scrambling path accessing the upper drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_038_04172022 - Looking underneath the PR-111 road bridge back towards the upper drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_040_04172022 - Context of the cliffs next to Salto Collazo, where I suspect landslides are the reason why there were those road barricades
Salto_Collazo_041_04172022 - Closer look at the artful decorations on the Salto Collazo road bridge along the PR-111
Salto_Collazo_043_04172022 - Contextual view of Salto Collazo's upper drop as seen from the road bridge
Salto_Collazo_045_04172022 - Looking back towards the Salto Collazo Road Bridge from some kind of energy contraption as I was exploring and looking for a way down to the bottom
Salto_Collazo_047_04172022 - At some point, I followed a narrow road down and then looked along the road embankment for signs of a use-trail, which ironically was aided by all the litter that was here
Salto_Collazo_048_04172022 - Looking back up at the narrow road bridge that I took in search of a way to get to the bottom of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_049_04172022 - Looking ahead at some kind of private residence further down the narrow road that I walked down in pursuit of the base of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_055_04172022 - Looking downstream from the spot where I managed to make it down to the bottom of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_060_04172022 - Broad look up at the top of the lower drop of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_063_04172022 - Full look at the lower drop of Salto Collazo and its plunge pool
Salto_Collazo_076_04172022 - Long-exposed look at the attractive lower drop of Salto Collazo fronted by a fairly sizable plunge pool
Salto_Collazo_079_04172022 - Looking back downstream at the rocks and jungle that I went through to get to the base of Salto Collazo
Salto_Collazo_081_04172022 - Last look at the inviting plunge pool at the base of Salto Collazo before I headed back up
Salto_Collazo_082_04172022 - Even around the plunge pool of the lower Salto Collazo Waterfall, there was a lot of litter in the form of plastics, soiled napkins, and broken bottles
Salto_Collazo_083_04172022 - I noticed this rotten soursop (or Buddha Head as they'd call it in Taiwan) that fell to the ground while scrambling my way out of the base of Salto Collazo


Accessing Salto Collazo is pretty straightforward (at least in my mind).

So I’ll describe how we managed to do the drive both from Arecibo as well as from Aguadilla.

Salto_Collazo_001_04172022 - Looking back at the context of the colorful bridge fronting the upper drop of Salto Collazo along the PR-111
Looking back at the context of the colorful bridge fronting the upper drop of Salto Collazo along the PR-111

From Arecibo, we exited the PR-22 for the PR-129, which we followed for a little over 15 miles to the PR-111 in Lares.

Then, we took the PR-111 west for about 7 miles to the colorful Salto Collazo road bridge, where we found a narrow pullout to get out of the way of traffic and walk towards the bridge itself.

Overall, this drive would take around 30 minutes assuming we started the drive from Arecibo.

From Aguadilla, we’d drive south on the PR-2 before its off-ramp with the PR-111.

Salto_Collazo_087_04172022 - Context of the limited and narrow pullouts on either side of the PR-111 to the west of the Salto Collazo Bridge
Context of the limited and narrow pullouts on either side of the PR-111 to the west of the Salto Collazo Bridge

Then, we’d head east on the PR-111 for a little over 14 miles to a pullout space before the Salto Collazo bridge.

Overall, San Sebastián was about 24km (over 30 minutes drive) east of Aguadilla, about 43km (under an hour drive) southwest of Arecibo, about 31km (around 45 minutes drive) northeast of Mayaguez, around 72km (over 90 minutes drive) northwest of Ponce, and about 122km (under 2 hours drive) west of San Juan.

Find A Place To Stay

Sweep showing the waterfall from the bridge against the morning sun before crossing the bridge and looking at an obstructed view of the lower drop


Sweep starting from a lookout spot before scrambling up to its base for a closer look


Downstream to upstream sweep of the taller lower drop

Trip Planning Resources


Nearby Accommodations



Tagged with: pr-111, western puerto rico, san sebastian, lares, roadside, scramble, litter, cordillera central, puerto rico



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

No users have replied to the content on this page


Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:

If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...

No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall


Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls

The Waterfaller Newsletter

The Waterfaller Newsletter is where we curate the wealth of information on the World of Waterfalls website and deliver it to you in bite-sized chunks in your email inbox. You'll also get exclusive content like...

  • Waterfall Wednesdays
  • Insider Tips
  • User-submitted Waterfall Write-up of the Month
  • and the latest news and updates both within the website as well as around the wonderful world of waterfalls


How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.