Honeymoon Pt. 5 – Charco El Pilón

Welcome to the fifth adventure during our honeymoon: Hiking to a hidden waterfall called Charco El Pilón!

Welcome to our video series chronicling our honeymoon! From our home in nearby St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, we decided to stay and explore Puerto Rico for one adventurous week! Check out all our other videos:

• Old San Juan
• Rincón
• Cabo Rojo Lighthouse
• La Parguera Scuba Diving
• Honeymoon Adventures

Enjoying the Waterfall and Hike to Charco El Pilón

Charco El Pilón is a breathtaking natural oasis and cascading waterfall in San German, Puerto Rico. We visited this hidden gem nestled in the tropical rainforest after hiking to Faro Los Morrillos in nearby Cabo Rojo.

It’s a perfect spot to relax while dipping in the crystal clear natural pool or to pump your adrenaline by jumping into the water off the surrounding boulders. The hike to Charco El Pilon is a bit challenging in some areas, with damp forest ground and abundant stream crossings. But overall, it’s a doable hike for explorers of all levels.

During our honeymoon in Puerto Rico, Laura and I enjoyed visiting and hiking the trail to Charco El Pilón while staying in nearby La Parguera for some scuba diving! Overall, hiking to the waterfall was one of the highlights of our honeymoon, and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting Puerto Rico.

🇵🇷 Read the Full Guide: Hiking to Charco El Pilon in San German, Puerto Rico

San German Waterfall: Photo Gallery

Hiking to Charco El Pilón: Video Transcript

As you witnessed earlier, we made an ill-advised attempt at hiking to a different waterfall known as Salto Curet. It’s highly advised that you don’t trek upstream while rain is pouring rain to a waterfall. It’s extremely dangerous for obvious reasons that I ignored.

Charco El Pilón Trail

This waterfall we’re attempting to visit today is called Charco El Pilon. You’ll hear me try to mention it throughout the video but never come even close.

After 45 minutes of hiking, you’ll reach the beautiful swimming pool and waterfall of Charco El Pilon. The Puerto Rican flag hanging up is a nice touch, as well.

This hike is 30 minutes outside popular tourist areas like Cabo Rojo and La Parguera and an hour from Rincon. It’s one of many waterfall hikes in the rainforest on the west side of Puerto Rico, so I can’t speak of it in comparison to other hikes, but what I can say it was pretty kick ass.

It’s best to do these waterfall hikes early in the morning since the rainforest tends to see heavy rains later in the day. Don’t be like us a day earlier at the beginning of this video.

Potential Cathedral and Cave Atop the Waterfall

I read in some Google Reviews of people climbing the sides of this waterfall to the river atop, where it leads into a cave and cathedral of sorts. Unfortunately, my 30-year-old ass has had two knee surgeries and facial reconstruction after a fall – so you won’t find me climbing anything like that anymore. If anyone has any knowledge of the cave on top, let me know in a comment below.

Trekking Out and Snake Sighting

At times the trail can get confusing. Thankfully, arrows are going both ways, in and out, so you can remember the correct path.

Sidenote, this snake appears to be a small Puerto Rican Boa. Again, let me know in the comments below if anyone has a better guess.