About Cascada de Pedrosa de Tobalina
The Cascada de Pedrosa de Tobalina was where the Río Jerea plunged some 10-15m over a wide slab of bedrock within the namesake town of Pedrosa de Tobalina. Unlike most of the waterfalls that we had seen throughout Spain to this point, this was the only one on our 2015 trip that was supposed to be much wider than it was tall. However, as you can see from the picture at the top of this page, the waterflow was on the low side so the waterfall was essentially segmented into two smaller waterfalls at the opposite ends of the exposed bedrock slab. I’ve seen in the literature under more normal flow (probably in the Winter and early Spring months on a year with healthy rainfall) that the segmentation was less pronounced.
This was probably one of the easiest and most convenient waterfalls for us to visit. After finding parking along the main street of the relatively quiet town of Pedrosa de Tobalina (see directions below), we then walked to the signposted footpaths leading to both the top and bottom of the falls. Speaking of the signposts, there was a sign here that said “Cascada El Penon” (or more accurately “Cascada El Peñón”), so I have to believe that this waterfall was also called by this name.
Beyond the signpost, we first walked on the upper path to the left, which led us a few paces (probably two minutes or so) to the brink of the waterfall (the vantage point you see in the photo at the top of this page). After having our fill of this spot, we then walked the lower path to the right of the fork, which was paved as it descended past some building before reaching the edge of the large plunge pool of the falls. We had to be a bit cautious on the downhill because it had been raining earlier in the day so the concrete surface was a bit slippery. Anyways, it only took us 2-3 minutes to get down to the bottom, where we were able to get a partially obstructed view of the entire width of the falls. I’m sure under more flow, the obstructions wouldn’t have had as much of a visual impact.
At the base of the falls, we saw some very large chunks of bedrock partially submerged in the plunge pool. This attested to the process of erosion where I’m sure there were episodes of higher flow on the river causing or at least accelerating this process thereby “moving” the brink of the falls further upstream. We also noticed some people were walking further upstream from the brink of the falls, which suggested to us that it was possible to walk a longer trail (possibly allowing walkers to notice even more things about the falls than just what could be seen from the two lookout spots we had visited). In any case, we can’t really say more about these other trails because we didn’t do them.
We visited the Cascada de Pedrosa de Tobalina as part of the long drive between Puentedey and Cascada de Peñaladros. However, we’ll describe the directions from the main cities of Burgos and Bilbao. For the specific directions from Puentedey and Cascada de Peñaladros, see the Cascada La Mea and Cascada de Peñaladros pages, respectively.
From Burgos, we would head east on the N-I road (or the AP-1 autovía if you don’t mind paying the toll to go faster) for about 42km to the CL-632 road near the town of Briviesca. Next, we’d follow the CL-632 road north for about 20km before it would join up with the N-232 road. We’d then follow the N-232 road for about 13km before turning right onto the N-629 road. We’d follow the N-629 road for about 7km to the town of Trespaderne, where we’d then continue on the Bu-550 road for another 7km to reach Pedrosa de Tobalina. The waterfall was well-signed within town. Overall, this drive would take on the order of 90 minutes to two hours.
From Bilbao, we would take Bi-636 road southwest for about 13km, then turn left onto the Bi-2604 road (just past the town of Sodupe and towards Zubiete). We’d follow this road for about 12km as we’d then turn right on the A-624 road in Artziniega, then turn left onto the A-2602 road. Following the A-2602 road for about 2.5km, we then kept left onto the Bu-550 road and followed it for about 38km southwest to the town of Pedrosa de Tobalina. Overall, this drive should take about 90 minutes or so.
Finally, for some geographical context, Burgos was 185km (under 2 hours drive) east of León, 159km (over 1.5 hours drive) southwest of Bilbao, and 249km (2.5 hours drive) north of Madrid.
Find A Place To Stay
Checking out the falls from both its top and its base
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Related Itineraries
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
