El Salto del Agua (The Jumping Waters)
Inside the cave looking out at the falls.My good friend Nancy went with me last week to the village of Arroyo Seco north of Taos to find and explore the cave. The cave has a prominent place in my next mystery novel.
Back in the day, Mabel Dodge Luhan and her husband, Tony Lujan, took artists and writers to the cave. D.H. Lawrence found inspiration after his visit in 1924 and wrote the short story, “The Woman Who Rode Away”. The cave was also the model for the Stone Lips cave in Willa Cather’s novel Death Comes for the Archbishop, published in 1927.
Some claim that there are mystical earth energies (geospirals) that exist in the cave. If you spend some time relaxing inside the cavern, you can feel the energy. Nancy and I definitely felt the energy.
I was told there is a special spot, where, if you stand still, you can feel the healing energies emanating from deep below the ground.
El Salto del Agua is a magical place and we didn’t want to leave.
Directions to El Salto del Agua Cave and Waterfall
The cave is on private land, part of the Martinez land grant dating to the early 1700s. Visitors are welcome but must pay the association’s entrance fee.
From Taos take highway 522 north and turn east onto route 150 to Arroyo Seco. Drive through the village (stop and check out the shops and gallery on your way back). Pick up El Salto Road at the end of town—the road ends at the trailhead. It’s a dirt road, which isn’t in great shape. When the road starts getting rough, you are getting close. At the trailhead, there is a box for the daily pass fee—$10 per person. The cave is at 9,000 feet elevation. It isn’t far to the cave, two-tenths of a mile, but the trail is a steady incline. After a tenth of a mile, take the right-hand trail. The trail winds through bushes and undergrowth.