Salto de Eyipantla

Eyipantla is less a plume than a wall: the Rio Grande spreads across a wide basalt lip in the Los Tuxtlas highlands and falls about fifty metres in a broad, thundering curtain some forty metres across, throwing enough spray that the viewing area stays permanently wet and the surrounding vegetation drips. Reaching the base means a stairway of around 250 steps down the gorge side, with viewpoints on the way and a platform close enough to be soaked in seconds; the return climb is the day's exercise. The name is Nahuatl and usually glossed as something like "three streams" or "water splitting in three," which the fall does at moderate flows. The site is community-run: guides offer explanations, stalls sell snacks and rain capes, and the standard extras include horse rides and a walk to quieter upstream sections. Film crews have used it, most famously for Apocalypto's jungle sequences. Its neighbour attraction, the Catemaco lake, sits half an hour away, and most visitors do both in a day from San Andres.

What you actually see

• The water wall - fifty metres across a broad basalt lip.
• The stairway - 250 steps down into the spray.
• The viewing platforms - close enough to be drenched.
• The gorge forest - dripping green in the Tuxtlas.

When to go

Year-round; July to October brings the biggest flow, dry months give clearer water and easier steps. Mornings avoid tour groups and afternoon storms.

Honest expectations

Everything gets wet - protect cameras and phones. The climb back is steep and humid. Facilities are simple and vendors persistent but pleasant.

Nearby

Catemaco's lake and monkey islands lie half an hour east; San Andres Tuxtla's cigar factories are minutes away.