cola de caballo

Cola de Caballo is the most famous waterfall in Nuevo León: a drop of about 25 meters shaped like a horse's tail in the Santiago sierra, above El Cercado. An emblem of Monterrey-area tourism for generations, and the postcard almost every local family has in an album somewhere.

The base plan is the short, tree-shaded walk to the waterfall viewpoint, inside a park with an entrance fee. But the real value of the place is being the gateway to the Santiago sierra: from this area the roads take off toward Potrero Redondo and the Matacanes canyons, and the highway keeps climbing toward Laguna de Sánchez.

Much of Santiago's commercial outdoor scene concentrates around here: local operators offer tandem paragliding flights over the sierra when weather conditions allow, and the summer canyoning tours pass through this area.

It can be visited year round; the waterfall carries more water after the summer and fall rains. You arrive via the Carretera Nacional to El Cercado and then up the road that climbs to the park.