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The San Cipriano Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural San Cipriano) surrounds the town of San Cipriano, near the city of Buenaventura just off the Pacific coast of Colombia. There are plenty of recreational activities available including hiking, swimming, and tubing.
The Town
To reach the nature reserve, you have to walk through the main road through town. You’ll see lots of simple structures with hotels, restaurants, and small shops inside.
Charco La Balastrera
The easiest swimming area you can reach is Charco La Balastrera, which is right in town just past the football field.
It’s a small rocky beach along the river. It features crystal clear waters and the water can reach depths of up to three meters. We spent our first afternoon there.
Hiking Trail
On our second morning, we set out to see a few more of the natural wonders in the reserve. At the end of town, there’s a hiking trail that takes you to more swimming holes and waterfalls. It’s very easy to follow and the swimming holes are well-marked.
Charco Oscuro
The next swimming area we reached was Charco Oscuro, which is also along the river. It was extremely crowded and the water level was too high due to heavy rains throughout the previous night.
The locals were in the process of building a bridge over the river at Charco Oscuro for easier access to the biggest waterfall.
Charco La Tortuga
Next was Charco La Tortuga. A 400 meter trail takes you to a few quieter swimming areas along the river.
Waterfalls of Love
We continued along the trail past a couple other swimming holes before taking a spur trail to the left. It led us to the Waterfalls of Love (Cascadas del Amor). These were a series of three small waterfalls.
We were able to swim at all of them, although the first one was our favorite because the deep plunge pool allowed us to dive in from the rocks.
The next two waterfalls had shallower plunge pools but were also a great place to relax.
What We Missed
On this trip, we weren’t able to get to the biggest waterfall. The only way to get there was to cross the river, which was too dangerous because of the heavy rains the night before, and the bridge I mentioned wasn’t complete. I was also very much looking forward to tubing down the river, but again, because of the high water level and dangerous currents, we weren’t able to do it.
Tubing
If you are able to go tubing, you can rent a tube from one of the outlets in town. Shop around because some shops charge much more than others.
Guides
Many tourists hire a guide to take them to these beautiful natural places at San Cipriano although for the most part it’s not necessary. You do need a guide, however, to reach the largest waterfall. Guides charge reasonable rates, but make sure to negotiate.
