Maybe you don’t expect that many waterfalls in Spain but I have listed almost a hundred waterfalls. Almost 20% of Spain is covered with mountains above 1.000 meter, quite impressive. Where mountains are, there are waterfalls. There are more waterfalls then I have listed. Every month I discover a new waterfall in Spain. Most of the impressive waterfalls in Spain are situated in the north, in the mountain chain Pyrenees.
Waterfalls of Spain map
I have listed about a hundred of the best waterfalls of Spain on a Google map. The “waterfalls of Spain map” is easy to use and there are links to all waterfalls of Spain with more information. Just click on the bigger map icon to view the “waterfalls of Spain map” fullscreen.
The Pyrenees is a mountain chain that runs from the northwest to the northeast of Spain and is situated on the border with France. The highest peak in the Pyrenees is the mountain Aneto (3.404 meters), higher then the peaks on the French side of the Pyrenees.
In the south of Spain you will find the Cordillera Bética/Sierra Nevada with the highest peak on the Spanish mainland, the Mulhacen (3.478 meters). Because the temperatures are higher in the south and there isn’t much rainfall, there aren’t many waterfalls in the south of Spain.
Other mountain ranges are Cordillera Cantabrica (in the northwest) with several nice waterfalls, Sistema Iberico (south of the Pyrenees) and Sistema Central in the middle of Spain.
I only visited Spain twice (chasing waterfalls) but the country impressed me very much. Beside nice people, good food, reasonable prices the nature is of astonishing beauty. I didn’t visited many waterfalls but the few I saw (in the early summer) are of great beauty. On my visit I explored a small part of the Pyrenees but after my visit to national park Ordesa I was in love with this gorgeous valley. The valley is easy accessible and the many waterfalls are amazing. Most of the waterfalls in the Ordesa national park can be found in the river Arazas that runs through the valley.
At the other side of the mountains (in Parc Nacional Ordesa) lies Gavarnie in the France part of the Pyrenees with some awesome waterfall.
But Spain has many more waterfalls, also in other regions then the Pyrenees. Watching Bicycling (the Vuelta) on television I discovered a waterfall in the west of Spain. Never saw it before: Cascada del Ezaro in Mirador de Ézaro. Pretty nice, but to far away to explore…
Near to the Pyrenees (south of Bilbao) there are three surprising high waterfalls, perfect for a visit in wintertime or spring: Cascada de Gujuli (Cascada del Goiuri ), Cascada del Nervion (Salto del Nervion) and Cascada Nacimiento del Rio Asón (Cascada de Cailagua or Cascada Cola de Caballo) with heights between 100-270 meter.
Another region with surprising waterfalls is on the border with Portugal, in the approximate of the river Douro (Parc Natural de Arribes del Duero). This area best can be visited wintertime or early spring when there is a lot of rainfall.
The Spanish word for waterfall is “cascada”, in plural “cascadas” and sometimes “salto” is used in names for waterfalls in countries where they speak Spanish. It actually depends on in which region you are. In Galicia often “Fervenza” is used as the word for waterfall and in Catalonia you often see “Salt”.
I recently discovered that there are so many waterfalls in Spain that it will a long time before I have done any proper research and I can add them in my database. I already added a lot of unknown waterfalls in Spain on my online map.
Biggest waterfalls by volume in Spain
What is the biggest waterfall in Spain (by volume) is a tough question. There isn’t much reliable information available regarding volume in Spanish rivers. I guess the waterfalls in the Pyrenees around a glacier should be the most powerful ones, but I am not sure. In the future I will try to get some figures so I can say what the biggest waterfall in Spain is. In the meantime this is my provisional list:
Probably Cascada del Cinca (also named Cascada de Marboré or Cascada Rio Cinca) in the Pyrenees is the highest waterfall with a total descent of 600 meter. But is always the question from where do you measure? Nacimiento del río Mundo (Chorros del Rio Mundo) is also such a waterfall with a total height of approximately 300 meters and could be the second highest waterfall in Spain. A certain number three of highest waterfalls in Spain is the Cascada del Nervion (Salto del Nervión) with a total height of 270 meters. Cascada del Nervion is without a doubt the highest waterfall in Spain with a single drop of 222 meters!
The most beautiful waterfalls in Spain and also the highest waterfalls in Spain are located in the Pyrenees. The waterfalls in “Parc Nacional Ordesa” are my favorite with at the end of Circo de Soasa, a mighty waterfall called Cascada de la Cola de Caballo.
Maybe you don’t expect that many waterfalls in Spain but I have listed almost a hundred waterfalls. Almost 20% of Spain is covered with mountains above 1.000 meter, quite impressive. Where mountains are, there are waterfalls. There are more waterfalls then I have listed. Every month I discover a new waterfall in Spain. Most of the impressive waterfalls in Spain are situated in the north, in the mountain chain Pyrenees.
The Pyrenees is a mountain chain that runs from the northwest to the northeast of Spain and is situated on the border with France. The highest peak in the Pyrenees is the mountain Aneto (3.404 meters), higher then the peaks on the French side of the Pyrenees.
At the other side of the mountains (in Parc Nacional Ordesa) lies Gavarnie in the France part of the Pyrenees with some awesome waterfall.
What is the biggest waterfall in Spain (by volume) is a tough question. There isn’t much reliable information available regarding volume in Spanish rivers. I guess the waterfalls in the Pyrenees around a glacier should be the most powerful ones, but I am not sure. In the future I will try to get some figures so I can say what the biggest waterfall in Spain is. In the meantime this is my provisional list: