El lemon. Dominican Republic on blogs

The famous El Salto del Limon cascade and the surrounding rainforest are nestled among the Sierra de Samana mountains, in the northern part of the Samana Peninsula, about 300 m above sea level. The great popularity of El Limon is due to its relative accessibility and incredible entertainment.

The view of the streams of pure water falling from a great height is truly mesmerizing.

And in the natural pool under the waterfall, you definitely need to swim. Firstly, to enjoy the coolness of a mountain river, and secondly, to become richer and fulfill a wish.

At least that's what local belief says. No wonder the name El Limon is often translated as "Millionaires' Waterfall".

A separate pleasure is to stand under the jets of water, experiencing a powerful natural hydromassage. You should refrain from swimming only after heavy rain - opaque water and dirt on the stones around the reservoir are not very conducive to water procedures.

If you are not in the mood for swimming, you can just watch the fantastic jumps from the cliff into the reservoir of local daredevils.

Young people perform dangerous somersaults with apparent pleasure and excitement, but applause and tips, as usual, are welcome.

For a long time, the cascade was considered the largest in the Caribbean - its height is about 55 meters. Guides and some tourist sites mislead tourists that this waterfall is the highest in the country.

In fact, for a long time the highest waterfall was Aguas Blancas (Aguas Blancas), 83 meters high, located in Constanta. However, recently, in province of Ato Mayor La Jalda waterfall was discovered with a height of 121 meters. Thus, the El Limon waterfall is only in third place in terms of height.

How to get to the El Limon waterfall

Horseback riding is the most popular way to get to the falls. 90% of travelers for the first acquaintance with this natural landmark choose this option. It is also preferred by tour operators who organize group excursions to Samana.

Four possible routes start from different settlements- Rancho Español, Arroyo Surdido, El Café and El Limón.

There is a serious competition between the ranches that organize tours. Even at the entrance, motorcyclists, riders and pedestrians begin to attack you, inviting everyone to their "institution".

In fact, they are all the same and consist of a small garden, a stable and a restaurant where, after returning from a walk or before going on it, you can taste simple Dominican village dishes and buy products from local farms - cocoa, chocolate, jams and handicrafts.

Here you can also choose from " vehicle"- basically these are not horses, but mules. They have a rather miserable appearance, but they are very hardy and calm.

In the kit, each member of the expedition is entitled to a guide - a young man who will lead the "horse" by the bridle, monitoring the safety of the rider and carrying his luggage.

A small child, of course, will not be left alone, but will be put in the saddle with them.

It depends on the choice of the starting point whether the walk begins immediately in the countryside, or whether it will be necessary to overcome a short distance along the highway.

After passing through the village, you will be able to see the delights of the unpretentious Dominican village life, and then, having crossed a shallow river, you will start climbing into the mountains.

The path to the top along rocky mountain paths surrounded by tropical vegetation takes about 30-40 minutes. Be prepared for the fact that the road can be slippery, dirty, and a small section of it runs along a cliff.

Having overcome all the difficulties of the path, and having reached the final point, the participants of the excursion find themselves in an equipped observation point with a panoramic view of the waterfall and its surroundings. Here you can relax a little, buy soft drinks or souvenirs.

You will have to force the river on your own, moving over the stones, or, having resorted to the help of a guide, on his back.

After that, there is a slight rise - and you are at the goal ...

Then you can enjoy the view of the waterfall, swim and watch the "guides" jump. If you went here not in the group tour- guides will give you the opportunity to spend as much time here as you see fit.

Then you will need to follow the same path - a ford, a staircase (now up!), a gazebo, a horseback ride through the mountains - to return to the ranch.

Recently, some agencies have begun to offer another way to get to the falls - canyoning along the Limon River. This is a type of extreme tourism that is gaining popularity, which consists in overcoming the water-rocky terrain without the help of swimming equipment, through rock climbing, jumping into the water and swimming.

The El Limon waterfall is located on the territory of the Dominican Republic on the Samana Peninsula, 20 km from the port city of Samana. The falling water itself is located in the tropical forest. The place is secluded and remote. The height of the waterfall is approximately 45 meters. Below it is a small lake suitable for swimming.

There is a local belief that if a visitor bathes in this lake, then he will be lucky in his personal life and finances for the rest of his life. How true the belief is is unknown, since no one has collected statistical data on this issue. But for some reason, tourists believe the locals without any statistics and willingly swim in the lake waters.

Information for tourists

The area in which the waterfall with the lake is located is mainly agricultural. There are many household plots and gardens around, bordering on plantations of coconut, bananas, coffee and cocoa. All houses are brightly painted in various colors of the rainbow, and are made of palm wood and straw. The rainy season lasts from May to November. During this period, everywhere is dirty and wet, so clothing and shoes must be appropriate.

The trail to the falling water starts near the village of El Limon. Tourists usually get to their destination on horseback. These are not hot horses of Arab blood, but calm horses of a local breed. They do not trot at a spreading or sweeping trot, but simply walk at a normal average speed. Therefore, both elderly women and small children sit on them without fear.

The horseback ride takes approximately 20 minutes. During this time, the tourist group reaches the top of the hill. Then you will need to walk another 20 minutes along a well-trodden path. In total, the path to the waterfall is no more than 45 minutes. If you go on foot, and not ride a horse, then the one-way trip will take about an hour or a little more. It all depends on physical fitness.

At the end of the path, an amazing sight opens up before tourists: water flowing along a rocky wall and a lake with cool water. Those wishing to swim should not forget to bring their bathing suits.

The environment should be treated with respect. Downstream, community residents receive water, so there is no need to litter it with garbage.

Surrounded by a subtropical forest with original tree species. All this vegetation is protected by the law of the Republic. The same applies to the animal world. By the way, herons nest very close to the El Limon waterfall.

El Limon waterfall on the map of the Dominican Republic
(blue circle)

The whole tour, including the road, takes 3 hours. In addition to the guide, tourists are also accompanied by a photographer. He takes good professional photos, which are then distributed to all members of the group. It is not recommended to go on a tourist walk for children under 5 years old, as well as for elderly people who are unsure of their abilities.

The next point of our tour was a visit to the El Limon waterfall. In the Dominican Republic, this is not just a visit to a waterfall, it is a whole ritual in which everyone is involved. locals and horses from nearby villages. Tourists are brought to a designated place where they are fed and watered by themselves) There are also a couple of souvenir shops and a necessary thing for a tourist - toilets.

We were lucky with the weather. It was sunny and quite cheerful. But they say it often rains there.

All arriving excursions are brought to a special pedestal, from where tourists are loaded onto horses.

I am afraid of horses and they think me too) In this case, a guide is attached to each horse. More precisely, each guide has a horse decorated with a ribbon seat so that tourists do not beat their asses on steep paths, and lives on the tips that he earns in a cart.

Therefore, there is no need to run after horses and guides. They will find you. And do not be afraid that you will get off your horse at the waterfall, and then you will not be able to find your horse (well, and the guide at the same time). The guides keep a close eye on their clients and will immediately show up when you get off the trail from the waterfall to the landing site.

Before boarding a horse, all tourists change their shoes into rubber boots. It is better not to show off, but to change shoes. Since there is red clay soil, which gets dirty when it rains, and just near the waterfall. And when it rains, I wouldn't want to be there at all)

For the same reason, you should not refuse to climb a horse from a pedestal. They say there was a case when a tourist slipped on the clay, jumping on a horse, and broke his arm.

After the tourist has climbed onto the horse, the guide takes it away and leads in the direction of the waterfall.

Through a very picturesque forest, which also seems to be a national park.

You can load some things on the guide. He will carry them. If you suddenly want to prancing, the guide will be trotting nearby.

The guide quickly realized that I was interested in bromeliads, and tried to show them on the branches of trees. And then we smelled a strong scent of jasmine. He hung like a cloud in the air. It turns out that this is how flowering coffee trees smell. The guide handed me a plucked branch covered with delicate white flowers.

The people around him are like on Red Square!

El Limon Falls, these are streams of water falling from a great height without any fuss. If there were no people there, it would be interesting.

But to such a famous tourist place Dominicans bring a lot of excursions. There is a traditional excursion tale that the one who bathes in Lemon will become rich. Another lightweight option is to rub your pockets with water.

I love swimming in waterfalls. It's an absolutely fantastic feeling! But there were so many people here that I even wanted to change the traditions...

In the end, I did make up my mind. Otherwise, she would have regretted it later... Her foot touched the icy water. Horror! Gathering my courage, I dived into the water. After all, they don't even have a steam room in the Caribbean.

Cool water immediately washed away all the hardships of the day. It became so easy and good! I swam under elastic jets ... In general, they say that this is not worth doing. Since a stream of water falling from a height can bring stones with it ... But of course the sensations are fabulous! It's like I washed myself off for 10 years. (pictured below is not me!)

Swimming in this waterfall is not worth accelerating. They say that there are stones sticking out under the water that do not reach the surface. And you can run into them. But if you swim slowly, then everything is just fine!

After some time, the bulk of the people moved back.

To be honest, I was frankly against horseback riding, because I don’t know how to ride, you can’t take pictures from a horse and you won’t see much. But when we got out of the waterfall, I appreciated the idea of ​​​​this event, because I realized that I would not have gone back on foot.

Some horses of too greedy owners are frankly sorry. When an unfortunate animal on wobbly legs carries a carcass of about 150 kilograms.

I got a healthy horse. And he wanted to jump! But I do not. The trail to El Limon Falls is clearly not the Champs Elysees. This is a clay path broken in the rains and sometimes frozen, dotted with stones. The path goes down, then up ... Darling pranced ahead. His guide pranced behind him. My guide followed them! And, damn it, my horse! Because my guide understood - my husband is his tip. And if the husband gallops forward, says goodbye to his guide on the spot and gives a tip, then my guide can only remain with my grateful smile, and this is not quite what he expected.

We galloped back to the station (don't worry. no guides were hurt. everyone got their tips), changed our shoes, and until everyone packed up, we had some free time. And what about tourists? They sat and waited for our bus to depart. Then they saw that I was taking pictures and also crawled out with cameras. And there was something to shoot. The nature of the Dominican Republic is very interesting! For example, bromeliads grow there.Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae) form a family of monocots, consisting of shrubs or herbaceous perennials, terrestrial or epiphytic, growing in tropical and temperate regions of America (with the exception of one species west of Africa).

The most famous bromeliad in the world is the pineapple. Ananas comosus). The culture comes from South America.

Colorful horses in their ribbons grazed on the meadow.

The tulip trees burned with a fire of scarlet flowers. Somehow I had no luck with them. Wherever I go, it's not the season. And there were a lot of them.

Orchids, full participants in the Dominican Flower Festival...

Then we loaded onto the bus and went to the eco-hotel "Paraiso Cano Hondo"

(La Cascada Limon) is located in the northeastern part of the Dominican Republic in the rainforest of the Samana Peninsula and is a 50 meters high water jump with a beautiful natural pool below. Limon Falls and its surroundings are located in one of the three main hills that make up the Sierra de Samana in the north of the peninsula, located at an altitude of about 300 m above sea level.

The excursion to the touristy attractive waterfall, accompanied by a professional guide, lasts 4 hours and involves a pleasant one to two hour walk on donkeys, mules or horses through the dense rainforest. Throughout the tour, tourists can enjoy the lush countryside and tropical vegetation.

Among the endemic native trees, for example, one can distinguish: Juan Primero (Simarouba glauca), Cigua Blanca (Ocotea coriacea), Uva de Sierra (Coccoloba diversifolia), Cabirma (Guarea Guidonia) or Higuero (Crescentia cujete), whose wood was used by the Indians, and today crafts are made from it.

Tourists will also have the opportunity to see cocoa and coffee gardens, which are found throughout the road, long palm trees, tropical fruit trees: mango, achiote, sour and sweet oranges, grapefruits.

Upon arrival, tourists can relax and have a refreshing drink in the wooden hut to prepare for walking the narrow path that leads down to the foot of the waterfall, which is visited by about a thousand ecotourists a year.

The cascade consists of three streams gliding over a solid greenish wall - the product of hundreds of ferns and the presence of high levels of humidity in the area, the natural state of which deserves protection. The waterfall culminates in a natural pool of cool, clear water where you can enjoy a completely relaxing bath.

After the return of tourists, a delicious typical buffet awaits at Rancho Raulin. Here you can buy natural cocoa and coffee beans at a good price, as well as completely fresh ground coffee.

In order to provide a good service to visitors and to manage their natural resources sustainably, the Salto-del-Limon Ecoturismodel Association has been created. It is possible to drive to the foot of this spectacular crystal clear waterfall, but the concept of ecological tourism to El Limon suggests not to use any type of car: car, motorcycle, etc., including a bicycle - only an animal or on foot. This restriction was made to avoid negative impact on the environment, while preserving this place with all its naturally formed natural features.

The road or path leading to the waterfall must be in good condition to avoid falling. The sloping section of the path descending to the foot of the waterfall is equipped with wooden railings on one side to ensure the safety of tourists.

The country's most popular El Limon Cascade and its surrounding rainforest are nestled among the Sierra de Samana mountains, in the northern part of the Samana Peninsula, about 300 meters above sea level. The great popularity of this waterfall is due to its relative accessibility and incredible entertainment. The view of the streams of pure water falling from a height of 40 meters is truly mesmerizing. In the native pool under the waterfall, you definitely need to swim. Firstly, to enjoy the coolness of a mountain river, and secondly, to become richer and fulfill a wish. At least, that's what the local belief says - it's not for nothing that the name El Limon is often translated as "The Waterfall of Millionaires". A separate pleasure is to stand under the jets of water, experiencing a powerful natural hydromassage. And you will make the way to the waterfall and back on horseback with the help of local guides.

Road to Lemon Falls

Waterfall Lemon

Small waterfall along the way