Salto de la Princesa Waterfall

Salto de la Princesa: a must-see in Curacautín

Key facts: Salto de la Princesa

Information checked in October 2026. Opening hours, access and prices may change: confirm them before you travel.

Salto de la Princesa, about 25 meters high, is formed by a drop in columnar basalt structures where the La Gloria stream empties into the Cautín River. The surroundings are beautiful, with abundant native vegetation, ferns, mosses and many shrubs. Visibility is good, and so is access: the waterfall is about 500 m from the main road between Curacautín and Malalcahuello. Salto de la Princesa also has an important cultural value, since it is linked to a Mapuche legend.

The legend of Salto de la Princesa

"Those were the days when the Mapuche tribes welcomed different Pehuenche and Puelche communities in Curacautín to trade goods and hold religious ceremonies. The Mapuche did not know some things the Pehuenche and Puelche had already mastered, and one of them was the horse. One day, chief Huillical heard that the Pehuenche and Puelche rode horses. He promised valuable gifts to the brave man who brought him one, but nobody could, and little by little his wish became an obsession, especially when he learned that a beautiful white stallion had arrived in Malalcahuello. So he gathered his tribe and said: 'This is Princess Rayén, my daughter. One of you will bring me that white horse, and whoever does will take my daughter as his reward.' Nahuelcura, the young man Rayén was in love with, comforted her and told her not to worry: he would bring the white horse her father wanted so much, and so their love would be sealed forever.

At dawn on the third day, a neigh full of strength and life broke the calm of the morning. Huillical could not believe his eyes: the white horse he had longed for was standing in front of him.

Quilacura said to the chief: 'Will you keep your promise, now that I have made your dream come true?'

'A Mapuche always keeps his word,' Huillical answered. 'Go to that ruca and take Rayén as your wife.'

Quilacura felt he was walking on clouds. He had loved her for so long in jealous silence, and now Rayén was his. But when he entered the ruca, a cry of rage shook the whole tribe: 'Rayén, where are you, Rayén!' She was far away, with her beloved Nahuelcura.

Chief Huillical told his tribe: 'Search for Rayén throughout the forest, search every cave for three moons and three suns. If she does not appear by then, she will have won her destiny, but she will never again be a Mapuche woman.'

So all the men went in search of Rayén, but Quilacura went alone; his despair made him run like a lion with no direction.

Rayén and Nahuelcura ran through the forest without rest until nightfall, and they lay their tired bodies down in front of a large rock. The search did not stop for a single second, and without them noticing, the three moons had passed.

Suddenly, on the third sun, a shout came from the bushes: 'I found her! Princess Rayén is here, everyone come!' Hearing this, Rayén and Nahuelcura looked around, but saw there was no way out: they were in the middle of a human circle, and the only exit was a cliff.

The young couple looked at each other and, holding hands, jumped into the void. And it was here that a waterfall was born, ironically in the shape of a horse's tail."

Tips for your visit

• Don't leave trash: take it back with you.
• Don't light fires.
• Wear shoes with good grip: the rocks are often wet.
• Don't swim in the pool: the current is strong.
• Visit during the day: there is no lighting or permanent supervision.