Peru 
In numbers.
771m
Height
0.99m³/s
Average flow
estimate
Jan–Apr
Best months
7.5MW
Water power
estimate
The water at Gocta Cataracts, month by month
It roars from January to April.
The fullest months: from January to April. The thinnest: from June to September.
- 1.3 m³/sJan
- 1.4 m³/sFeb
- 1.5 m³/sMar
- 1.4 m³/sApr
- 1.1 m³/sMay
- 0.8 m³/sJun
- 0.7 m³/sJul
- 0.7 m³/sAug
- 0.7 m³/sSep
- 0.9 m³/sOct
- 1.1 m³/sNov
- 1.1 m³/sDec
From about 0.66 m³/s in the lowest month to 1.5 m³/s in the highest. Best months to go, with plenty of water and pleasant days: from January to April.
Estimate: the timing comes from rain, snowmelt and evaporation (NASA POWER, 1991–2020); the amounts from the river model of HydroATLAS (WaterGAP, 1971–2000). Dams upstream can change the real flow.
Waterfall in Peru
Gocta Cataracts is a waterfall in Peru. The water falls 771 m. It lies within Comunal San Pablo - Catarata Gocta.
Getting there.
- Churujanearest town · 7.4 km in a straight line
- Chachapoyas Airport (CHH)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 20 km in a straight lineCar hire in TarapotoDiscover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- From January to Aprilbest months to go (estimate)
Plan your visit
Stay, explore and get there
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
How big is it?
How big it really is.
Height of the drop from Wikidata. Buildings and the person are drawn at the same scale.
7.5 MW
About 0.99 m³/s falling 771 m: the power of the water as it drops.
- as much as 2.5 large wind turbines
- enough to power about 1,900 homes, if it were all turned into electricity
Power of falling water = density × gravity × flow × height. Average flow and height as shown above; an estimate.
Seen from the sky.
8 × 8 km of cloud-free satellite image, with what OpenStreetMap knows around the falls.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 8 × 8 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
The line follows the river as mapped in OpenStreetMap; heights from the 30 m Copernicus model, which smooths narrow drops — the published height of the falls is the one above.
Around the falls the river drops 932 m in 3.6 km.
What is around.
- 7viewpoints
- —waymarked walking routes
- —car parks
- —swimming spots
- —picnic sites
- 2toilets
- —information boards and visitor centres
- —bus stops within 1 km
- 3other named waterfalls within 4 kmCatarata de Golondrina, Chorro Negro
- —caves
- 3campsitesLa Golondrina, Eco-camping Gocta - San Pablo
- 9hotels, B&Bs and huts within 6 kmAlbergue Gocta, Hopedaje Casa Redonda, Gocta Amazonas Hostal and 6 more
- —restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, up to 2 km around the falls (unless noted). A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Churuja7.4 km in a straight line
- San Carlos8.1 km in a straight line
- Paclas11 km in a straight line
- Olto12 km in a straight line
- Cuispes13 km in a straight line
- Pedro Ruiz Gallo13 km in a straight line
- Huancas17 km in a straight line
- Santa Catalina22 km in a straight line
Weather
The weather, month by month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon °C | 22 | 22 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 |
| Night °C | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Rain & snow (mm) | 66 | 58 | 69 | 58 | 28 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 21 | 39 | 50 | 51 |
| Wet days | 14 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 3.8 |
Long-term averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, with temperatures carried to the height of the falls (2,235 m) at −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Not a forecast.
Photos
Through visitors' eyes.
Recent years
Wet years and dry years
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A wet season above 100 % usually means a fuller waterfall.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 106% | 57% | 46% | 61% | 57% | 77% | 435% | 12% | 61% | 36% | 58% | 109% |
| 2021 | 44% | 56% | 89% | 36% | 21% | 202% | 44% | 84% | 96% | 74% | 49% | 67% |
| 2022 | 32% | 104% | 88% | 79% | 78% | 106% | 56% | 74% | 117% | 39% | 25% | 29% |
| 2023 | 128% | 89% | 155% | 56% | 50% | 8% | 15% | 26% | 22% | 64% | 54% | 138% |
| 2024 | 38% | 50% | 21% | 26% | 42% | 51% | 56% | 58% | 54% | 89% | 43% | 40% |
| 2025 | 53% | 66% | 63% | 67% | 66% | 268% | 22% | 29% | 46% | 291% | 280% | 23% |
130% wetter than usual 70% drier than usual
Compare with the waterfalls nearby.
Gocta Cataracts
Peru
- 771 mHeight
- 0.99 m³/sAverage flow
- Jan–AprBest months
About these numbers
| Names, height, width, river | Wikidata (Q512389) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| River flow and catchment | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Relief, river profile, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Paths, viewpoints, parking | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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