A single famous waterfall is a day out. Three or four within an hour of each other is a holiday, and there are more of those places than most people realise. To find them we took all 1,142 waterfalls in the index, measured the straight-line distance between every pair, and grouped any that sit within 35 km of each other. That produced 101 clusters, from the obvious (Yosemite, the Iceland ring road) to a few that surprised us. The biggest are below, each named after the base town of its best-known fall.
Two honest notes. Straight-line distance is not driving distance, and in mountain country a 20 km gap can be a two-hour drive, so check the route before you book a bed. And the index is not complete: a region with four falls here may have forty on the ground. Treat these as starting points, and tell us what we have missed.
Around Waitākere Ranges, New Zealand
16 waterfalls within 32 km. Kitekite Falls, Waitoru Falls, Oakley Creek waterfall, Mokoroa Falls, The Cascades, Karekare Falls and 10 more. The tallest of the group is Kitekite Falls at 40 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: September, October, November. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Haldummulla, Sri Lanka
13 waterfalls within 35 km. Bambarakanda Falls, Diyaluma Falls, Kurundu Oya Falls, Rathna Ella, Devon Falls, St. Clair's Falls and 7 more. The tallest of the group is Bambarakanda Falls at 263 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: August, September, October. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Hamilton, Canada
10 waterfalls within 22 km. Devil's Punch Bowl, Webster's Falls, Albion Falls, Borer's Falls, Darnley Cascade, Puddicombe Falls and 4 more. The tallest of the group is Devil's Punch Bowl at 37 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: April, May, June. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Yosemite Valley, United States
9 waterfalls within 28 km. Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Fall, Nevada Fall, Vernal Fall, Wapama Falls, Tueeulala Falls and 3 more. The tallest of the group is Yosemite Falls at 739 m. Yosemite Falls has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: April, May, June. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Upper Whitewater Falls, United States
9 waterfalls within 30 km. Upper Whitewater Falls, Dry Falls (North Carolina), Eastatoe Falls, Cullasaja Falls, Rainbow Falls (North Carolina), Turtleback Falls and 3 more. The tallest of the group is Upper Whitewater Falls at 125 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: March, April, May. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Vysoké Tatry, Slovakia
8 waterfalls within 17 km. Kmeťov, Siklawa Falls, Black Lake Falls, Vodopád Skok, Siklawica Falls, Obrovský vodopád and 2 more. The tallest of the group is Kmeťov at 80 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: April, May, June. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Fludir, Iceland
7 waterfalls within 32 km. Gullfoss, Háifoss, Faxi, Hjálparfoss, Þjófafoss, Granni Waterfall and 1 more. The tallest of the group is Háifoss at 122 m. Gullfoss has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: June, July, August. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Tallulah Falls, United States
7 waterfalls within 32 km. Tallulah Falls, Toccoa Falls, Anna Ruby Falls, Issaqueena Falls, Dick's Creek Falls, Blue Hole Falls and 1 more. The tallest of the group is Tallulah Falls at 58 m. Tallulah Falls has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: March, April, May. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Mareeba, Australia
7 waterfalls within 20 km. Davies Creek Falls, Wongalee Falls, Milmilgee Falls, Barron Falls, Stoney Creek Falls, Tinaroo Falls and 1 more. The tallest of the group is Davies Creek Falls at 100 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: February, March, April. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Springbrook, Australia
6 waterfalls within 16 km. Purling Brook Falls, Yarrbilgong Falls, Morans Falls, Elabana Falls, Bilbrough Falls, Coomera Falls. The tallest of the group is Yarrbilgong Falls at 150 m. Purling Brook Falls has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: September, October, November. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Gudvangen, Norway
6 waterfalls within 31 km. Kjelfossen, Rjoandefossen, Kjosfossen, Tvindefossen, Espeland Falls, Stalheimsfossen. The tallest of the group is Kjelfossen at 755 m. Kjelfossen has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: June, July, August. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Kautz Creek Falls, United States
6 waterfalls within 17 km. Kautz Creek Falls, Comet Falls, Sydney Falls, Narada Falls, Van Trump Falls, Christine Falls. The tallest of the group is Kautz Creek Falls at 120 m. Best months, going by the group's climate band: April, May, June. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Rodney, New Zealand
6 waterfalls within 19 km. Waitangi Waterfall, Omeru Falls, Waitangi Stream Cascade, Paraua Rapids, Tarakihi Rapids, Pohuehue Falls. Best months, going by the group's climate band: September, October, November. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
Around Corbett / Cascade Locks, United States
5 waterfalls within 21 km. Multnomah Falls, Twister Falls, Latourell Falls, Horsetail Falls, Wahclella Falls. The tallest of the group is Multnomah Falls at 189 m. Multnomah Falls has a full guide with prices and where to stay, so start there. Best months, going by the group's climate band: April, May, June. See the whole cluster on the waterfall trails list.
How to use these
Pick the cluster, then open the fall with a full guide first: it carries the prices, the park rules and the stays, and the rest of the cluster shares most of its logistics. Check the season line on each fall, because a cluster in monsoon country is a very different trip in March and in September. And read the safety guide before you plan to swim anywhere.
