Palenque + Jumping off waterfalls in Chiapas
Palenque was a spot that I had never heard of until I arrived in Chiapas. I am so glad that we had an open itinerary and we were able to go because it is not to be missed! Palenque is an outdoor lovers’ paradise. The surrounding jungle and mountains are breathtaking. The Mayan ruins tucked away in the jungle are unique and beautifully intact.
Waterfalls & Cliff Jumping at Roberto Barrio
My favourite thing about Palenque were the waterfalls that were easy to get to and low-cost full day activities. Probably my favourite experience in Mexico was cliff jumping at the Roberto Barrio waterfalls. When you arrive, you can ask a for a local guide to take you on a by-donation cliff jumping tour! We jumped off tall waterfalls, army crawled through a cave system underneath a waterfall, dove into an underwater cave and slid down a natural waterslide. To find our guide, I just asked some local men who were sitting in swimsuits with life jackets at the restaurant. All the guides wear life jackets so that’s how you can identify them. I would definitely recommend doing this as you will be shown stuff you would have never found other wise and you are also supporting locals from the village. We also did the jumping tour at Agua Azul, a different and much more touristy waterfall park, but the highest jump there was about ten feet and it was still a cool experience that I would recommend if you are visiting Agua Azul anyway. But definitely do not miss the one at Roberto Bario! If you are a bit nervous of heights and caves, then maybe skip the jumping tour at Roberto Barrio and just do the one at Agua Azul, which is much more low key.
Getting to Roberto Barrio:
Take a collectivo for 50 pesos each way from the center of Palenque. It’s just the one collectivo all the way to the falls. Entry to the falls is 30 pesos per person. Try to avoid the weekends as it gets very busy on the weekends, but when we went midweek there was hardly anybody there and it was absolutely magical! The collectivos are caminoettas (pick-up trucks with benches in the back).
In Palenque, you can find the collectivo to take you to Roberto Barrio near the market in town. Use maps.me to search for ‘collectio Roberto Barrios’ and you will see how to get to the spot where the minibuses leave from in town. If you are walking around in that general area, there will be men who will ask you if you want the collectivo to roberto barrio and they will take you to where the minibus is parked, it’s very easy!
Getting to Agua Azul:
Take a collectivo from the center of Palenque and tell the driver you are going to Agua Azul. If you want to visit Misol-Ha in the same day, it’s another waterfall on the way to Agua Azul so it’s the same process to get there. If you are going to Agua Azul, the driver will stop and let you out on the side of the main road before the driver continues on towards Ocosingo. From your drop-off point, you will be greeted by taxis waiting to take you the remaining ten minutes up the road to the entrance of the falls. We paid 50 pesos for the first collectivo from Palenque and then we paid 25 pesos per person in the taxi collectivo for the remaining ten minutes. In total the whole journey to Agua Azul took nearly 2 hours. Misol-Ha is about halfway between Palenque and Agua Azul. The road out of Palenque is very windy so don’t eat a huge meal if you tend to get car-sick. We left Agua Azul at about 4:30 pm to head back to Palenque. The taxi ride down to the main road was breath-taking: all the surrounding rolling hills and mountains were lit a beautiful gold by the sunset. When we were dropped off at the main road, there were about ten others stood there waiting for a collectivo back to Palenque as well. There were also several police cars. We were told that there was a road block near Ocosingo that had only just opened up so our timing was perfect as the others before us had been waiting for 2 hours with not one car driving by. Each collectivo that passed was quite full so once they began coming we didn’t have to wait long, maybe twenty minute before enough had passed, each letting on one or two people, until all those before us had been picked up and it was our turn. The police were very helpful in communicating with drivers and getting the tourists a ride back to town as quick as possible. The van that picked us up costs 70 pesos, but there was a line of people behind us also eager to get back so we didn’t wait for a cheaper option. Moral of the story is that when you do Misol-Ha or Agua Azul, do not do it on the same day that you are planning to catch the ADO nightbus or any other transport out of Palenque. The ADO bus that goes to Quintana Roo (Tulum, Cancun, Bacalar, etc.) leaves Palenque at 6 pm every night - so if you had been trying to do a waterfall the same day as catching the nightbus, then you run a high risk of missing that nightbus because these roadblocks on the road coming from Ocosingo (past the waterfalls towards San Cristobal) happen several times per week. Luckily for us, we didn’t have anything we needed to be back in a hurry for. If you are catching the nightbus, a good activity to do that same day would be the ruins in Palenque rather than a waterfall. Save the waterfalls for the days that you are staying overnight in Palenque.
I would suggest doing 3 nights in Palenque at least to have enough time to see the waterfalls and ruins. However if you are short on time and can only do 2 nights, you can still fit it all in by doing to ruins on your last day before you catch the nightbus out of Palenque and on to your next destination.
If you are only staying in Palenque for 2-3 nights this would be my recommendation:
One full day for Roberto Barrio. Note that the last collectivos leave back to Palenque at 4:30 or so. So don’t get there too late in the day. The first time we went, we didn’t arrive until 3 pm so the driver said he would wait until 6 pm to take our group home but this was an exception as the next time we went, on a Saturday, we were told that if we don’t get the last collectivo home by 4:30 we would be stuck there. So just go early or if you have your own car then the drive there is super pleasant and you get to stay for a beautiful sunset!
One full day for Misol-Ha then head to Agua Azul in the same day.
On the third day, if you are getting a night bus that night, you could spend your day at the ruins. However I would suggest doing three nights in Palenque because after two full days of waterfalls you will be tired and it would be nice to have a rest day so that you can have energy to really enjoy the ruins. Walking around in the sun at the ruins is hot and tiring as well so to have to go on a nightbus later that same day is doable, but exhausting.
Using a transport service between Palenque and San Cristobal to see Agua Azul & Misol-Ha
Another way to see Agua Azul and Misol Ha waterfalls is to do the transport service between Palenque and San Cristobal that stops at these two waterfalls. You only get about 45 minutes to an hour at each so if you’re just wanting to see them quickly it’s a good way to do it to free. If you’re planning on visiting the colonial city of San Cristobal after Palenque then you can opt for this tour/transfer. If you are doing this then just make sure you go to Roberto Barrio on your own the day before!
Mayan Ruins in Palenque
The Mayan ruins in Palenque are stunning. They are tucked away in the jungle and compared to most other Mayan ruins in Mexico, they are peaceful and quiet. When we went midweek (in peak season) there was hardly anybody else there. You can also walk through the jungle pathways away from the main ruins to explore nearby waterfalls and a few forgotten temples. If you download the app called maps.me you will notice a landmark at the ruin called forgotten temple - definitely take a walk and check that out after you see the main ruins.
