Chile · Bío Bío
The Laja River fans out across a broad basalt shelf south of Concepción, splitting into multiple channels that reunite in a wide, low curtain rather than a single dramatic drop. Hotel terraces built right at the rim let visitors watch it from a swimming pool that seems to merge with the falls themselves.
Checked September 2026 by David Bussell
Salto del Laja drops 35 metres (115 ft) on the Laja. It is a block-type fall, and the nearest base for a visit is Los Ángeles, with ZAL the closest airport. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy.
Salto del Laja is the tallest of the 8 waterfalls we cover in Chile. As a block waterfall, a wide sheet of water falling from a broad river.
Also good forHikingPhotography
Spring snowmelt (Sep-Nov) and autumn rains give the fullest flow; summer irrigation draws can thin it.
Entry: Small viewpoint fee at hotel grounds
This waterfall
Salto del Laja
Chile
Height35 mWidth—
Most similar
Devil's Punch Bowl
Canada
Height37 mWidth—
Also a block waterfall and of similar height
Largest curtain
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe · Zambia
Height108 mWidth1,708 m
Largest single sheet of falling water
Tallest on earth
Angel Falls
Venezuela
Height979 mWidth—
Widest on earth
Khone Phapheng Falls
Laos
Height21 mWidth10,783 m
Measured across the whole multi-channel system
Angel Falls is 28× taller than Salto del Laja. Victoria Falls is 3.1× taller. We don't have a reliable crest width for Salto del Laja yet, so it is left off the width chart. Tallest · widest lists.
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Guidebook
Mark Johanson et al. · 2025
Covers Los Angeles/Bío Bío for Salto del Laja, the Lake District's Vicente Pérez Rosales park, and Torres del Paine.
Guidebook
Ben Box · 2017
The one-volume continental handbook, useful for multi-country trips that link falls such as Iguazú, Kaieteur and Angel Falls.
Walking guide
Rudolf Abraham · 2023
Trek guide to the W and O circuits, which start near Pudeto and the short trail to Salto Grande on the Paine River.
-37.2156, -72.3833
Salto del Laja is in Chile (Bío Bío). The nearest base is Los Ángeles and the closest airport is ZAL. Its coordinates are -37.2156, -72.3833.
Salto del Laja drops 35 metres (115 feet). It is a block-type waterfall on the Laja.
Peak flow is April to May and September to November. Spring snowmelt (Sep-Nov) and autumn rains give the fullest flow; summer irrigation draws can thin it.
Beyond the viewpoints: swimming, hiking and photography. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint.
Yes — swimming is a normal part of a visit to Salto del Laja, in the pools away from the falling water. Only swim where it is permitted on the day, stay clear of the base of the falls where currents recirculate, and skip it after heavy rain.
The usual base is Los Ángeles, and the closest airport is ZAL. A short walk or roadside viewpoint from there. Small viewpoint fee at hotel grounds.
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