Salto del Nervion

Berberana / Parque Natural de Monte Santiago / Castilla y Leon Region / Euskadi (Basque Country), Burgos, Spain

About Salto del Nervion

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Of all the many waterfalls that we encountered between Burgos and Bilbao, Salto del Nervion (or more accurately Salto del Nervión with the accent) by far was the best performer.

Not only were we impressed with its flow, but its cliff dive into the head of a picturesque valley further added to its scenic allure.

Salto_del_Nervion_130_06142015 - The Salto del Nervion Waterfall (or Salto del Nervión)
The Salto del Nervion Waterfall (or Salto del Nervión)

As you can see in the photo above, this could quite possibly be the highest free-leaping waterfall in the Iberian Peninsula at 222m in height (though I’ve also seen 270m claims as well).

Moreover, the drama of the threatening weather and the gusty conditions also meant that we got to experience the falls in several different moods.

In other words, within a span of a few minutes, we managed to see the falls being blown up by the wind.

Shortly thereafter, we then saw a surprise rainbow for the brief moment that the sun came out.

Then, we witnessed the Salto del Nervion bend forwards and backwards with the swirling winds on its way down into the valley.

Salto_del_Nervion_079_06142015 - The Salto del Nervion Waterfall getting blown up by the strong winds at its overlook
The Salto del Nervion Waterfall getting blown up by the strong winds at its overlook

Furthermore, we even saw eagles soaring around the falls because there just so happened to be a nest near the spray zone of the falls!

An interesting fact about Salto del Nervion was that apparently its brink was right on the autonomous regional boundaries of Castilla y León and País Vasco (Basque Country).

That said, the popular walks were predominantly on the Castilla y León side so most of the signage was purely in Spanish.

Hiking to the Salto del Nervión

As for experiencing the Salto del Nervion Waterfall, this one made us earn it.

Salto_del_Nervion_025_06142015 - Looking towards what appeared to be the ruins of a monastery (possibly 11th or 12th century) seen on the long, flat trail to the mirador for the Salto del Nervion Waterfall
Looking towards what appeared to be the ruins of a monastery (possibly 11th or 12th century) seen on the long, flat trail to the mirador for the Salto del Nervion Waterfall

Indeed, we had to walk 3.2km in each direction along the PR-BU-42 path (labeled Senda Mirador Salto del Nervión) just to get to the lookout.

Fortunately, the walkway was mostly flat as it followed along what seemed like a former gravel road.

Given the wide and flat nature of the trail, I also noticed bicyclists taking advantage of the friendly terrain to reduce the time it would otherwise take to walk to the falls.

Julie, Tahia, and I also encountered some historical ruins of an 11th or 12th century monastery as well as some interesting statues and interpretive signs along the way.

Salto_del_Nervion_034_06142015 - The wide and flat Salto del Nervion Trail was also friendly to people riding bicycles like this family that passed me
The wide and flat Salto del Nervion Trail was also friendly to people riding bicycles like this family that passed me

So this was certainly a family-friendly excursion with enough things to maintain our interest in the moderately-long hike.

Trail Description for the hike to the Mirador of the Salto del Nervión

From the nearest car park to the Salto del Nervion (see directions below), we walked back along the road towards the junction right in front of the Casa del Parque.

This facility had toilets, interpretive signs, and some rest benches, but there was little in the way of such facilities on the trail so we took advantage of this.

We then followed the sign for the Senda Mirador Salto del Nervión, and it was pretty much flat and nearly straight walking for almost its entire tree-lined stretch.

Salto_del_Nervion_030_06142015 - Threatening bad weather as evidenced by the dark clouds as I walked the long trail to the Salto del Nervion Waterfall overlook
Threatening bad weather as evidenced by the dark clouds as I walked the long trail to the Salto del Nervion Waterfall overlook

Just a couple minutes from the start of this trail, we encountered the ruins of the 11th or 12th century monastery off the left side of the trail.

Nothing really caught my attention after this landmark until there were a couple of statues near a trail junction when the trees started to thin out and the scenery started to open up a bit more.

The trail then curved to the left past some shelter with a resting bench.

This path then passed by a different trail junction where a rougher path through pastures veered right into the Basque Country side of the regional border.

Salto_del_Nervion_037_06142015 - Passing by these big statues on the trail to the mirador for the Salto del Nervión
Passing by these big statues on the trail to the mirador for the Salto del Nervión

The waterfall path followed along the cliffs to the wide open mirador for Salto del Nervion.

This viewpoint was an overhanging platform with sweeping views down into the valley and town of Orduña (or Urduña).

It also afforded us a direct top down look at the plunge of the Salto del Nervion.

Since I was racing a threatening thunderstorm to get here, it took me about 40 minutes to get here, but it took Julie and Tahia an additional 15 minutes to arrive.

Because it was very windy when we got to the mirador, we saw that the plunging waterfall tended to bend with it.

Salto_del_Nervion_105_06142015 - Julie and Tahia on the overhanging mirador for el Salto del Nervión
Julie and Tahia on the overhanging mirador for el Salto del Nervión

We even saw moments where it seemed like more than half the falls was blown back up over the cliff while the rest of the falls dispersed and “disappeared” as mist before joining the Río Nervión.

By the way, the river was also known as Ria del Nervión or Ria del Bilbao in the Basque Country.

The river eventually made its way through Bilbao and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Given the exposed nature of this lookout, we were lucky that we were free of lightning strikes, but the dark clouds were definitely ready to bring weather so it was always on my mind.

Salto_del_Nervion_060_06142015 - Momentarily looking down at almost the entire drop of the Salto del Nervión just when the sun came out enough to reveal a rainbow
Momentarily looking down at almost the entire drop of the Salto del Nervión just when the sun came out enough to reveal a rainbow

After we had our fill of the waterfall, Julie and Tahia headed back to the car, where they ultimately spent about 100 minutes away from the car.

Trail Description for the scramble to the framed view of the Salto del Nervión and its valley

Meanwhile, I extended the excursion by going on that rough path branching from the main trail into the Basque Country from near the shelter.

Once I got on there, I could see that this trail used to be a 4wd road probably for ranchers to tend to the horses and cows that I saw still grazing on the land.

I’d eventually get off the dirt road and scramble on a faint trail-of-use that crossed the shallow Río Nervión well upstream from the falls.

Salto_del_Nervion_113_06142015 - Looking down the cliffs at some eagles or hawks nesting in the expanded spray zone (thanks to the winds) of Salto del Nervión
Looking down the cliffs at some eagles or hawks nesting in the expanded spray zone (thanks to the winds) of Salto del Nervión

Then, the scramble ascended to a semi-grassy area with bush clumps spread out that hugged the brink of the cliffs.

There were wire fences set along the edges of the cliffs though some parts seemed to have been knocked down.

After about 15 minutes, I finally got to an alternate view where I was able to look straight down into the valley with the Salto del Nervion framing the left side.

I didn’t have time to keep walking along the cliffs for different angles of the panorama.

Salto_del_Nervion_122_06142015 - Crossing the stream that eventually would lead to the big leap of the Salto del Nervión en route to an alternate view on the Basque side
Crossing the stream that eventually would lead to the big leap of the Salto del Nervión en route to an alternate view on the Basque side

However, I did recall seeing in the literature that one could scramble all the way to the opposite side of the gorge for a direct view of the plunge of Salto del Nervion.

Certainly, I could’ve spent a lot more time here, but we still had a long drive to San Sebastián ahead of us, and I still had to walk back to the car park where Julie and Tahia would surely be waiting for me.

In the end, I wound up spending about 2 hours away from the car, which included the extended side excursion to one of the alternate views of Salto del Nervion and the valley together.

On the way back, the storm eventually produced some on-and-off rain so it was a good thing that we came prepared with a rain poncho.

Salto_del_Nervion_145_06142015 - Looking back towards Salto del Nervión from an alternate lookout within the Basque Country
Looking back towards Salto del Nervión from an alternate lookout within the Basque Country

That said, its effectiveness was limited around the mirador when the wind tended to make the poncho do a Marilyn Monroe and blow it upwards.

Authorities

Salto del Nervion resides in the Monumento Natural Monte Santiago in the province of Burgos, Spain (right by the border with the Basque Country). It is administered by the Monumento Natural Monte Santiago. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: berberana, monte santiago, parque natural, natural park, castilla y leon, euskadi, basque country, burgos, spain, waterfall, bilbao



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Cascada del Nervión (Spain) January 13, 2020 9:03 pm by Jose Luis Sanchez Esteban - Two frontal views of this waterfall, with a height of 223 m is the highest in Spain and one of the highest in Europe. Unfortunately, it only can be seen in all its splendor after heavy rains. Here only falls a part of its total lenght. The third photo was taken from a different view… ...Read More

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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.
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