Villa Bernarda - Paso del Toro - El Retiro

Life's too short for shortcuts.

I had already visited the Paso del Toro waterfall a while back, but only as a day hike starting from El Retiro's park. It's a short hike which can be completed in 4-6 hours, so this time I decided I'd take the scenic route and make it an overnight camping hike. The trek can be completed as a circuit/loop, but I chose to stop recording once I arrived in town since from there it's pretty much paved road unless you're willing to go into the forest and do some cross-country hiking.

I started pretty late (around noon), but that gave me more than enough time to reach my camping spot. I'd advise starting early in the morning to avoid the afternoon sun as much as possible, but it's not a huge deal. Just get ready to sweat a lot.

The trail I started in is an old path that connects several farms and can be accessed from El Retiro-La Ceja's backroad. This trail takes you to El Retiro-Montebello's dirt road. Once you get to that road, head north towards El Retiro/La Guija's outlook point. You will come to another, narrower dirt path. Follow it west, away from El Retiro's urban center.

This path will loop back towards El Retiro (I did tell you this was the scenic route, didn't I?) in the direction of the local cemetery, by way of El Guarzo.

Now, there's a dirt road that will take you up into the mountains and you'll eventually go down into the creek and Paso del Toro. However, there is also an entrance through private property that goes along the length of the creek and straight into Paso del Toro. I think the latter is a more beautiful trail, and as long as you're not littering or making any damages, it should be ok to go this way. Please note that you WILL have to wade the creek to get the to waterfall proper, so make sure you have the right type of shoes/pants. This is the only reason why I have marked the trail as moderate; it's otherwise an easy trail to follow. Going into the creek means you will need to keep your balance in knee-high water with a moderate current.

You'll eventually cross a hanging bridge and continue up the creek, against the current until you get to a nice plain right along the river, that's unfortunately littered with trash. Please don't leave your trash in here! Take it back with you to the city.

From there just follow the creek until you get to about two or three pools. They can all be waded either knee or waist high, there is no need to swim (unless you want to! the water is refreshing). Soon you'll arrive at the waterfall. It's a short fall but it's beautifully framed by rocks and trees. Enjoy the view!

If you want to come back a different way (I did), there's a bit of a steep (albeit short) climb up the mountain through a thin trail that's almost covered by bush. Keep an eye out of for the reflective ribbons on the trees, they'll take you where you need to go.

Finally, you'll go into a thin but very visible path that will take you towards El Retiro's town center. You'll have another opportunity to get a good look at the town from up the mountains.