Ceunant Mawr Waterfall is one of the most gorgeous easy access waterfalls in Snowdonia. The waterfall cascades down a slot in a narrow moss covered gorge, creating a truly enchanting scene. You can view the falls from the base and from above, but you sadly can’t swim there - more on that later.
Although you could visit the falls in less than 30 minutes, you might find yourself lingering a lot longer.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Ceunant Mawr Waterfall (Llanberis Falls).
Visiting Ceunant Mawr Waterfall (Llanberis Falls)
Where to park
There is no dedicated parking for the falls, so you’ll have to use one of the nearby pay and display car parks. The off street parking is generally for residents only and there are plenty of signs to make sure you know!
The nearest car park was the Llanberis Pay & Display (next to the Snowdon Trading Shop), which costs £5 per day. We parked a couple of minutes further away at the Snowdon Mountain Railway car park, which was £4. You could look for parking slightly further away in the village, but there wasn’t any whatsoever when we visited.
The walk to the falls
The stats
Distance: 1 mile/1.5km return (lower falls) - 1.4 miles/2.2km return (upper falls swimming spot)
Elevation gain: 60m
Difficulty: Easy
The walk to the bottom of the Ceunant Mawr Waterfall
We’ll start the walk from the Snowdon Mountain Railway as that was the slightly cheaper of the two car parks. You’ll head right out of the car park and follow the road until you reach the nearest car park (next to the Snowdon Trading Shop) where you’ll turn right.
You’ll soon pick up the sign for the Ceunant Mawr Waterfall, passing over the cattle grid and then up the sealed road. The road heads uphill, but it’s only moments before you’ll see another sign for the falls on the left (this is 450m from the car park).
Follow this path and you’ll soon curve right and enter the gorge. From here the scenery changes completely and you’re now walking beside a beautiful gorge, with small cascades and plenty of moss and ferns. It’s stunning, and the path is both flat and easy underfoot, so it’s lovely and leisurely.
After just 750m you’ll see the lower falls ahead of you. There are a couple of steps to climb and then you’ll be standing at the foot of what looks like a truly idyllic swimming hole.
Unfortunately you are no longer allowed to swim here due to a series of fatal accidents.
I have to admit, I was really disappointed when I saw the sign (I’d found out about the falls via a wild swimming article, so I’d come intending to swim) but we actually met someone here who’d been friends with two of the people that lost their lives a few years ago.
It was very sobering to hear their story and as incredible as it does look for a swim, it’s important to respect the rules and the village by not swimming here.
However, it’s a wonderful spot for a picnic and if you do want to cool off there is another spot nearby - it’s not spectacular, but it is safe!
Despite the sad events that have taken place at the falls it’s still a wonderfully serene spot and very much worth the visit. However, if you want to see the whole falls you’ll need to do a little more walking, as the top of the waterfall is obscured by the gorge wall when viewed from the base.
Photographing Ceunant Mawr and accessing the upper falls
Although gorgeous from the bottom, you’ll want to climb a little up the obvious rocky track on the right to get an unobscured view of the lower falls.
The path is very rocky, but when dry it’s nice and grippy - I imagine it could get slippery when wet. It takes just a few minutes to reach the little dirt path, which offers a head on view of the falls as they cascade down the narrow slit in the gorge.
There’s a bit of a drop here, but again it’s not slippery when dry.
If you don’t mind the rocky path you can continue on for a further 150m to reach the road that connects you to the upper falls viewing area.
The path continues in the same rocky state as before and it’s relatively steep, but easy enough.
You’ll pass under the viaduct, which when you look back, frames the waterfall and mossy trees - a beautiful view, although hard to capture in a photo.
You’ll then reach the road and are just minutes away from two other viewpoints.
If you don’t like the look of the rocky path, you can retrace your steps back to the junction where you saw the hand written sign for Ceunant Mawr Waterfall, and then head up the road instead. It’s uphill, but on a sealed road which makes for easy walking.
Once you’ve walked up the rocky path or road, you’ll soon come to a gate beside the railway line (this will be the second gate you’ll see if you’ve come up the road route). It’s marked as private, but you are allowed to walk here.
Cross the tracks and look immediately for the path on the left. It’s a rocky dirt path which will take you down to the upper falls - it only takes a minute. It’s steepish but grippy when dry. The upper falls are very pretty, although a fallen tree has slightly obscured the view unfortunately.
When you’ve seen this viewpoint, head back to the road and begin walking downhill. Look out for a gate beside the railway line on your right.
You can cross the railway line (which is active, but you can hear the trains ahead of time and you are allowed to cross) and stand beside the wall on the other side to get another view of the falls.
It’s a little distant, so it’s best if you have a zoom lens, but it’s a pretty view and a different perspective to all the others.
The alternative swimming spot
This swimming spot is safe and very easy to access, however, it’s not in the league of others around Snowdonia, so this is more for if you’re visiting the falls and want to cool off - not a destination in its own right.
You access the swimming spot from the same path as the one to the viewpoint over the upper falls. Instead of going left to that viewpoint you head slightly right. Follow the flat dirt path with a field on one side and the river on the other.
After a few minutes you’ll reach a part of the river which has a deepish swimming hole.
It’s very easy to access, you can just step down off the river bank onto the rocks and straight into the water. It’s not big enough to swim, but it’s deep enough for a plunge (reaching chest height in the middle). The water is very cold, but it’s refreshing, and though it’s nothing like the delightful swimming hole at Ceunant Mawr, it’s safe and you’re allowed to swim there!
Getting to Ceunant Mawr Waterfall (Llanberis Falls)
The falls are located in the village of Llanberis, a 20 minute drive from Caernarfon and 30 minutes from Betws-y-Coed. You can also get there very easily from Llanberis Train Station if you don’t have a car.
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