Lonely Planet ColombiaAlex Egerton et al.
Guidebook
Lonely Planet Colombia
Alex Egerton et al. · 2025
Current Colombia guide with Bogotá and Cundinamarca day trips, the base for Tequendama and La Chorrera.
Colombia · Cundinamarca
Tequendama Falls
Salto de Tequendama
Just outside Bogotá, the Bogotá River drops off the savanna's edge into a deep canyon beside a haunting abandoned belle-époque hotel that once drew high society and now anchors ghost-story tours. Severe upstream pollution makes it a striking but sobering sight rather than a swimming destination.
Colombia's most famous, and most polluted, waterfall Essentials guide
Checked September 2026 by David Bussell
Tequendama Falls drops 132 metres (433 ft) on the Bogotá. It is a plunge-type fall, and the nearest base for a visit is Soacha, with BOG the closest airport. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy.
Tequendama Falls is the second-tallest of the 4 we cover in Colombia. As a plunge waterfall, water leaves the rock entirely and falls free through the air.
What you can do here
A walk-in-and-look waterfall
No commercial adventures run at Tequendama Falls itself — the experience is the approach and the view. Guided day trips from Soacha are the easiest way to combine it with the area around it.
Also good forHikingPhotography
When to go
Drier months give clearer air for photography; the river itself is heavily polluted year-round.
Entry: Viewpoint access via former hotel building
Getting there
- Base town Soacha
- Airport BOG
- Country Colombia
- Region Cundinamarca, Andes & Amazon, South America
- Access Easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint
How it compares
This waterfall
Tequendama Falls
Colombia
Height132 mWidth—
Most similar
Caracol Falls
Brazil
Height131 mWidth—
Also a plunge waterfall, of similar height and in Brazil
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
108 m
131 m
132 m
330 m
979 m
Victoria FallsCaracol FallsTequendama FallsEiffel TowerAngel Falls
Khone Phapheng Falls
10,783 m
Victoria Falls
1,708 m
Angel Falls is 7.4× taller than Tequendama Falls. It drops 1.2× further than Victoria Falls (108 m). We don't have a reliable crest width for Tequendama Falls yet, so it is left off the width chart. Tallest · widest lists.
Watch and read
Videos from Tequendama Falls
2:37
21:37
1:26
Chosen from YouTube; videos belong to their creators and play from YouTube's privacy-enhanced player.
Books worth packing
Guidebook
South American Handbook
Ben Box · 2017
The one-volume continental handbook, useful for multi-country trips that link falls such as Iguazú, Kaieteur and Angel Falls.
On the map
4.5753, -74.2938
Quick answers
Where is Tequendama Falls?
Tequendama Falls is in Colombia (Cundinamarca). The nearest base is Soacha and the closest airport is BOG. Its coordinates are 4.5753, -74.2938.
How tall is Tequendama Falls?
Tequendama Falls drops 132 metres (433 feet). It is a plunge-type waterfall on the Bogotá.
When is the best time to visit Tequendama Falls?
Peak flow is January to February and July and December. Drier months give clearer air for photography; the river itself is heavily polluted year-round.
What can you do at Tequendama Falls?
Beyond the viewpoints: hiking and photography. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint.
How do you get to Tequendama Falls?
The usual base is Soacha, and the closest airport is BOG. A short walk or roadside viewpoint from there. Viewpoint access via former hotel building.
Nearby
Closest to Tequendama Falls
La Chorrera
Colombia · 590 m · 12 km away
Colombia's tallest waterfall
Tequendamita Falls
Colombia · 20 m · 210 km away
Tequendamita Falls is a small natural waterfall in Colombia located in the municipality of El Retiro, in the…
San Rafael Falls
Ecuador · 150 m · 640 km away
San Rafael Falls was a waterfall on the Coca River in Sucumbíos and Napo, Ecuador. Standing 131 metres high…
Cascada del Vino
Venezuela · 750 km away
Cascada del Vino is a Venezuelan water fall with the peculiar feature that the river has a tinged of…