Ceunant Mawr Waterfall.

Ceunant Mawr waterfall in Llanberis, North Wales is a great waterfall to visit and the price is right! Free! Also, it was probably the best of the three falls I visited this time around. It is not amazingly well signposted but I’ve included some photos and a map which will show you the path to take at the bottom of the page.

Achingly Beautiful

You can get two views of this waterfall. I’ve included instructions for both at the bottom of the page. One from the top, an upper route, right by the railway track of the Snowdon Railway Train and one at the bottom, a lower route, to the falls. Words cannot do it justice so the short video below gives you a taste of possibly the best falls in Snowdonia!

The river that flows from the falls cuts down a boulder-strewn streambed beneath a canopy of trees in the most delightful way. Don’t forget to take your camera either! It is achingly beautiful!

I have seen pictures when the falls are in full flow which might make it a touch dangerous at the bottom but when I was there in July 2019 it was a gentler experience than it would be mid-winter or after heavy rain. Also, in full flow, I’d be interested to know if anybody has been over the falls in a barrel!

How to get to Ceunant Mawr Waterfall

Parking can be a bit tricky as everybody who goes up Snowdon by train or walking, parks in this area, so parking in Llanberis itself may be the best option. However, we were staying at the Royal Victoria Hotel so parking wasn’t a problem for us. The hotel is to be recommended too.

There are two views to be had from the Ceunant Mawr waterfall, an upper and lower view. The yellow dots are the upper view and the red dots are the route to the lower view. If you have only time to do one route, personally, I’d chose the lower one. But, the upper one only takes 10 minutes, so if you can, allow time for both. If you’ve got a moment, I’ll explain the two routes below starting with the upper route first.

The Upper Route

The upper route is to the top view of the Ceunant Mawr Waterfall and is the easiest walking as it is a paved road. Follow the road uphill until the point where it is closest to the railway line and you will see a kissing gate.

This gate leads directly over the Snowdon Railway to a small viewing area. Above is a view of the gate from the viewing point. Also, it’s worth noting there is no barrier between you and the railway line. So, if you have small children with you, keep an eye on them.

And the view itself;

The Lower Route

The Lower Route to Ceunant Mawr Waterfall is a bit more complicated with an un-signposted footpath to take. But, I’m here to help! Check out the photos below.

Above, you can see the footpath you are looking for.

Follow the footpath under the railway bridge and turn right at the river. Then, after admiring the stream, follow the path up the hill.

Follow the path next to the river on the right of the above photo. It leads up a charming little valley to the lower view of the falls.

Then you will come to a little pool that the waterfall empties into. We were the only ones there for the whole hour we visited! And this was in the school holidays in July!

You can get really close to the water and as you would expect the rocks are slippery so just be a bit wary of them.

Ceunant Mawr Waterfall – Conclusions

I had a bit of a struggle to find a list of good waterfalls in Wales. I was searching for a few waterfalls to see while I was in Snowdonia, so that was the genesis of this series of articles on Waterfalls in Wales. Also, who doesn’t like a good waterfall?

The Ceunant Mawr Waterfall is one of the best waterfalls in my opinion! But, I haven’t seen them all yet, but I’m going to try!

I love waterfalls. I find something relaxing about them. This is the first of my North Wales waterfalls. The other two are Swallow Falls and Conwy Falls.

The photography in this article and, specifically, the blurring of water is done with a tripod and a slow shutter speed. For the guide click on How to Blur Water.

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