About Cascada de Nocedo (Cascada de Valdecesar or Cola de Caballo)
The Cascada de Nocedo at first glance seemed like a pretty ordinary waterfall.
However, when we paid more attention to its somewhat tight surroundings within a small chasm, we realized that there was also a natural bridge right above it!
That’s right, this was one of those rare waterfalls where we were also able to combine it with a natural bridge (or natural arch) sighting!
Mercifully, the Arroyo Valdecésar (the creek responsible for the falls so it’s sometimes called Cascada de Valdecésar) didn’t have a very forceful flow during our visit.
Therefore, given tight gorge where we stood to view the waterfall, we didn’t have to fight a misty mess and thus enjoy the experience.
Indeed, this contrasted with a similarly-situated waterfall at say the Cascate del Varone near Riva del Garda, Italy, where that waterfall threatened to drench and destroy our electronics.
Experiencing the Cascada de Nocedo
Visiting the Cascada de Nocedo (or Cascada de Valdecésar) was very easy.
From the trailhead (see directions below), we followed a relatively short (maybe 100m or so) footpath crossing over a couple of bridges and being towered over by some tall cliffs.
Towards the end of the trail, there was a catwalk entering the chasm as the gorge closed in tighter.
On the final turn, we were face-to-face with the somewhat horsetail shape of Cascada de Nocedo.
By the way, I’ve also seen this falls called Cola de Caballo or horse’s tail (a rather common name for a waterfall).
Naturally, the closer to the end of the catwalk I went, the mistier and more difficult it was to take a photo or a movie.
Moreover, given how dark it was in this little chasm, this might be a situation where a long exposure photo or a high ISO would be necessary to reduce the blurriness or let in enough light or both.
The natural bridge was practically directly above the waterfall and mini-chasm.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to capture both the natural bridge and the waterfall in one frame (believe me, I tried).
I pretty much either had to capture the falls or just the bridge, but not both.
I heard that it’s possible to approach this chasm from the top and get a closer look at the natural bridge, but we didn’t exercise that option so we can’t comment more on it.
In any case, this entire excursion pretty much took us a mere 30 minutes, and that included the picture-taking.
We were the only people at the Cascada de Nocedo so it felt like a nice and intimate experience.
In fact, it seemed like a lot of cars just drove past this trailhead as if hardly anyone cared this falls was here!
Perhaps the lack of signage had something to do with it.
Anyhow, their loss was our gain in the form of having this place to ourselves!
Authorities
The Cascada de Nocedo resides between near the village of Valdepiélagos and La Vecilla de Curueño in the province of León, Spain. It may be administered by the local municipality. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you may get leads from this website.
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