Finding Snowdonia's Secret Waterfall
Nested away in the southern boundaries of the national park lies one of Snowdonia’s most coveted and guarded locations.
The Secret waterfall.
The waterfalls impressive stature and its Batman-esq surrounding is what makes this location so sought after.
Set deep within a secluded forest, the single drop fall cascades down into the cavernous remains of a once mined quarry.
As so many people do these days, I stumbled upon this location via the realms of Instagram, and instantly made it my challenge to try and locate it.
After an hour or so of detective work which had me diving deep into the pages of google, and cross referencing it with my physical paper maps. I finally stumbled across some co-ordinates and starting point.
Where is the secret waterfall?
I am not going to share the exact location of such impressive and hidden waterfall for two reasons.
Firstly, I think channelling your inner detective, using your navigational skills, and taking part in your own waterfall treasure hunt makes finding the location that much more exciting and rewarding.
Secondly, I don’t want this location to lose its charm and become a well-known hotspot of Snowdonia, overrun with tourists and litter. Now this isn’t me becoming all self-righteous. The reason why this waterfall is so impressive is down to its quiet, peaceful, and unspoilt location. And for the best part I would like it to stay that way.
Finding the waterfall
Myself, my partner, and our lurcher Laszlo, set off to find this waterfall on an overcast Monday at the start of May.
We had a start point, some grid co-ordinates, and plenty of optimism.
After an initial steep but short climb on road, the path branched off into the forest and began climbing gently alongside a river.
Enveloped by a wooded canopy and with nothing but the sound of nature filling the air, the walk up the river was magically tranquil. The river was interspersed with little waterfalls and crystal-clear plunge pools which would have made for a great spot to go wild swimming.
We made our way up stream on the well maintained and path which was very easy underfoot, eventually reaching a wooden footbridge which traversed high above the river.
From here we had a couple of routes to choose from so I decided to double check the location of the co-ordinates I found. I had dropped a pin on google maps where I believed the waterfall was situated. In my haste leaving the car park, I failed to load said map and now had zero signal.
Thinking I knew roughly where the waterfall would be on my downloaded offline maps on Maps.Me, we pushed on. From the bridge we stuck to the left hand side of the river, climbing up and out of the canopy before following the trail higher and deeper into the valley.
The humbling signs of Wales industrial past became more and more evident as we progressed further up into the valley. Deep cavernous pits dropped away steeply several meters from the fenced off path and the scared bare remains of the land lay all around.
As the trail dipped in and out of the woods, the path become muddier and the location of the waterfall less obvious.
By chance we stumbled across another couple waling in the opposite direction who were also on the lookout for the waterfall. Lucky for us they exact grid co-ordinates on an offline map. Although we weren’t to far from the waterfall, we had already walked past the path that branched off to its base and were actually heading further away from it.
To reach the waterfall we had to detour of the main path and into the woodland. After dipping under and over fallen trees, over the odd boulder, and wading through some overgrown vegetation the waterfall finally came into view.
Exploring the waterfall
A single-track path leads directly to a upper viewpoint directly in front of the waterfall. From there it is a short clamber down a loose rocky track to the mid-level viewpoint which allows you stand alongside the fall.
You then have the option of scrambling down some larger rocks down into the cavern below.
Caution should be taken here as the rocks are super slippery and partly covered in moss from a flow of water which was trickling down from the ledges above. In wetter weather this flow of water actually becomes its own separate waterfall which would make the climb down much more interesting.
Unfortunately, there is no plunge pool at the base of the waterfall to take a dip in. Instead the water crashes onto rocks below, before flowing down into the cave and disappearing underground. Although there isn’t much to see and explore once you are down in the cavern, the view from the base is well worth experiencing as it gives you a true sense of how large and impressive the waterfall is.
As it was just us and another couple down there, we had plenty of time to convince Laszlo to leave his stick alone and sit for some photos. I was also able to navigate my way around the slippery rocks which we climbed down to get a wider shot of the waterfalls and show its true scale. Although in the process I did get quite wet and came a little too close to a rather large spider.
I also managed to briefly get my drone up to capture some photos and videos of the waterfall and to try and give the location some scale.
We spent about 20 minutes here taking the waterfall in before clambering back out and making our way back downstream.
The Return Journey
On the way back we created a loop and walked down the other side of the river. Again, the path was very tranquil as it dipped in and out of the woods and passed by numerous small cascades and the rusted remains of the old quarry machinery.
We also passed by the Nant Gwernol upper terminus of the Talyllyn Railway.
The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate and passengers from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn on the Welsh Coast. In 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers and is now run as a tourist attraction
We decided to stick around as there was train due to arriving in around 10 minutes and I’m glad we did. As the old steam locomotive chugged its way into the station, I felt like the social media train spotting sensation Francis Bourgeois.
It was strangely enjoyable watching the train pull into the station , followed by seeing front section of the locomotive huff and puff as it manoeuvred its way around the steel track and re-join itself to the back of the carriage.
After watching the locomotive depart we then crossed back over the high wooden footbridge and made the short walk back down stream to the van.
Final thoughts and things to consider
The woodland walk was not only extremely tranquil by relatively easy. Especially the initial part of the walk up to Nant Gwernal railway station, as the paths are wide, well maintained, and are easy underfoot. In fact we passed several families with small children and one elderly couple tackling the lower section of the walk.
Because of this, it’s a walk I would recommend doing, even if you can’t find the waterfall. In total we walked under four miles and climbed less than 600ft.
Sections of the upper trail were quite muddy and the climb down waterfall was both rocky and slippery so appropriate and stable footwear is advised.
Apart from the slightly tricky climb down to the base of the waterfall there is nothing difficult or dangerous about this walk. Even when I was down in the cavern I didn’t feel as if I was putting myself in any danger.
There was also a significant temperature drop when we got down into the cavern, this was despite it being a rather hot and humid day. If you do go in search of this waterfall, pack a waterproof and an extra layer.
So there we have it, my blog post and slight guide to Snowdonia Secret Waterfall.
Have you tried to find this location before? or is it a location you didn’t even know existed?
I hope you found the blog useful or interesting. If you did find it helpful, I’d appreciate you giving it a share or giving me a follow on social media, every bit of support goes a long way.
For more travel, hiking, & photography inspiration around Wales check out my in-depth guides to each of my favourite Welsh regions below.
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