克帕塔维瀑布(Kpatawee Waterfall)坐落在利比里亚邦县(Bong County)的深处,距离首都蒙罗维亚(Monrovia)大约160公里。这里被当地人视为躲避城市喧嚣的清凉之地,由两处落差不同的瀑布组成。如果你在旱季到访,这里的水流虽然不如雨季湍急,但清澈见底的天然泳池足以让你在西非的热浪中彻底解暑。外国游客进入景区的门票大约需要准备10美元,这笔费用通常由当地社区或度假村管理方收取。建议出发前联系当地向导确认路况,因为邦县的降雨随时可能改变进入景区的土路状态。
从蒙罗维亚驱车前往瀑布通常需要3.5到4个小时。虽然连接首都与邦县首府格巴恩加(Gbarnga)的主要公路大部分铺设了柏油,但路面上偶尔出现的深坑还是会让车速慢下来。开车时得时刻盯着前方,特别是雨季刚过的那段时间,路面损毁会比平时更严重。大多数旅行者会选择在清晨七点左右出发,这样能赶在中午气温最高的时候跳进瀑布水潭。如果你没有自驾经验,在蒙罗维亚租一辆带司机的四驱越野车是更稳妥的选择,毕竟西非的交规和路况对新手并不友好。
到了苏阿科科(Suakoko)地区后,你需要离开主路转向一条通往景区的土路。这段最后几公里的路程非常颠簸,如果是底盘较低的普通轿车,底盘被刮蹭几乎是板上钉钉的事。要是碰上大雨,这条路会变得泥泞不堪,非四驱车很难通行。当你看到周围的橡胶树林越来越密集,空气中带上了潮湿的泥土气味时,就说明离瀑布不远了。这里没有像样的公共交通,如果你是搭乘当地的共乘出租车到达格巴恩加,还得在当地找摩托车司机(Okada)载你进去,往返费用需要提前谈好。
大家常说的克帕塔维瀑布通常指的就是一号瀑布,也就是位置较低的那一处。这里的落差虽然不算惊人,但水流沿着黑色岩石层叠而下,形成了一个宽阔且水深适中的天然池塘。池边的岩石被磨得很光滑,坐在这里泡脚或者整个人扎进水里非常舒服。这里也是度假村主要活动的区域,岸边有一些简易的凉亭供人休息野餐。由于这里距离停车场最近,到了周末往往会有不少当地学生和家庭来这里聚会,音响里放着动感的利比里亚流行乐,气氛非常热闹。如果你想清静一点,最好选在周二或周三到访。
说真的,要是没去二号瀑布,你的克帕塔维之行顶多只完成了一半。二号瀑布位于一号瀑布上方的丛林里,需要沿着湿滑的山路徒步大约20到30分钟才能到达。这条徒步路线没有专门的阶梯,基本是在树根和泥土之间穿行,清晨出发时山路上的露水能打湿整条裤腿。当你穿过密集的蕨类植物,看到那道更高、更狭长的水幕从几十米高的悬崖坠下时,你会觉得刚才的流汗完全值得。这里几乎没有人工开发的痕迹,只能听到震耳欲聋的水流声和偶尔的鸟叫。这里的深潭比下面那个更深,如果水性一般,千万别贸然往瀑布正下方游。
门票的定价策略在当地比较灵活,通常外国游客会被收取5到10美元不等的入场费,这笔钱主要用于景区的日常维护。如果你打算雇佣一名当地向导带你去二号瀑布,建议额外准备5美元左右的小费,他们不仅能帮你指路,还能帮你背一些重物。景区内有时候会提供简单的当地餐食,比如乔洛夫饭(Jollof Rice)或者炸鱼,一份大约在10到15美元左右。不过由于这里补给不便,厨房出餐的速度慢得惊人,等上一两个小时是常有的事。机灵点的游客都会从蒙罗维亚自带充足的水、面包和水果。
克帕塔维瀑布度假村(Kpatawee Waterfall Resort)提供了一些生态木屋和帐篷露营地。如果你想在山林里听着水声过夜,这些木屋的价格通常在每晚80到120美元之间。需要注意的是,这里的电力供应主要依靠小型水力发电或发电机,晚上由于用电负荷有限,空调可能无法持续运转,且由于地处雨林,屋里的湿度非常大。对于大多数人来说,当天往返蒙罗维亚或者在格巴恩加镇上找一家像样的酒店住宿会更舒适一些。不管住哪儿,强效避蚊胺喷雾是必须的,这里的蚊子战斗力极强,隔着薄袜子都能叮你几个包。
最佳游览时间是每年的11月到次年4月的旱季,此时路况相对稳定,瀑布水流清澈且适合游泳。6月到10月的雨季虽然瀑布水量巨大、气势磅礴,但进入景区的土路极其泥泞,且山洪爆发时水质会变得浑浊,存在安全隐患。
在指定区域内游泳基本是安全的,水流相对平缓。不过岩石表面布满了青苔,行走时非常容易滑倒,建议穿上防滑的溯溪鞋。由于水底深度不一且可能有暗石,不建议尝试从岩石上高空跳水,尤其是旱季水位下降的时候。
景区内的信号非常微弱,Orange 或 Lonestar 的手机网络在山谷里经常断断续续。如果你需要处理紧急工作,最好在进入土路之前完成,或者在度假村前台尝试连接不稳定的卫星网络。这正是一个让你放下手机,彻底融入西非自然的绝佳机会。
建议穿着轻便透气的速干衣物,并准备一套备用的干衣服放在车里,因为徒步去上瀑布时很容易被溅湿或出汗。鞋子是重中之重,必须是抓地力强的徒步鞋或运动鞋,严禁穿人字拖徒步山路。另外,雨林里光线较暗,带一个小手电筒在树林里穿行会很有帮助。
Freda A. Koomson The Waterfalls itself? 5 Stars, Beautiful, gorgeous and a scintillating experience of God's natural beauty and bounty in the heart of Liberia. *********** The "entity" managing admissions, food, and accomodations, 0Stars The worst part: Food Quality, Customer Service, and just overall gatekeeping of this space ZEROs across the board. Sara came to retrieve us from the waterfalls to say our food was finally ready. We placed our order hours before heading there. It was never "received" Our food was served fly ridden with a frown on the server's face. Plantain Dumboy... nasty. Full of goat meat when we asked for fish. Sara said she would ask for the fish in the soup and never returned. I had to call her attention for more soup. There was none ... The owner explained that she enhanced a part of someone else's order 👀 for our meal... Never in my life have I been to a legitimate establishment in Liberia that has pepper soup on the menu by preparing it for one order at a time! It was so bad but we were so hungry😞 The owner Josephine shows up after with a smile but proceeds to argue with us when we explain this was not what we were expecting nor wanting to eat after 4 hours journey. DEFINITELY pack your food and drinks in a cooler and eat on your way there. We didn't get what we ordered after placing our order in advance. We were rushed food that has to be the worst food I've ever eaten in Liberia. It was served to us at premium price as if to say we were dining on imported food from Royal Grand Hotel! We were surrounded by flies. They had light on in the kitchen but didn't have the forethought to have fans for restaurant guests. When asked, the owner said "when you eat fish there will be flies". Ma'am not if you're charging $20 there shouldn't be. This same Dumboy and soup is $7 at most locales in Monrovia and there's a fan even at the lappa bideaux 🥴. Attieke and fish $8 at most ... they tried to charge us $20! Dry Rice was a pre mixed mixture of bitterball and country rice. Fish was unseasoned. The irony is the manager Zach who I immediately complained to was in the midst of wiping his mouth of potato greens when I approached. He would later instruct the security guards to not allow our exit after I asked for an adjustment on our food bill and to speak directly with the owner. He claimed he would get us her # and then instructed the guards to block our exit. I had to call her husband to get the bill adjustment! Zach the manager, never got the # and protested that we ate all the food. See pics of barely eaten food. They literally held us hostage for food (see pics) we could barely eat! When we asked this same manager Zach about the Liberian dish of the day and why we couldn't have potato greens instead of the mess they served us... His response says it all. "We cook the staff food separate, there's Attieke and Fish" Have you no shame? Attieke & Fish is Ivorian. If your staff can't eat the BS you served us than that says it all Icing on the cake: The owner/operator was waiting on the road in her red pick-up truck also seemingly ready to hold us hostage. A 2nd manager, Isaac paid our bail money by paying $12 for the nasty soup they tried to force us to pay for. My sister threw up immediately when we got home. It's such a shame to see us treat our own people the way we were treated yesterday. PACK your lunch TRUST me. It was a better experience back in the day when this whole set up wasn't there 🤷🏿♀️🙅🏿♀️ The only positives might be the bathroom stalls. I would rather go back to paying the locals $5 for access to the space. Government or LINTA needs to take over ASAP. Otherwise this is a disgrace to Liberian tourism honestly. In a country that boasts of the best food in West Africa, this place is NOT where you go to eat.
Drew Doehring We absolutely loved our time at Kpatawee. This is one of the top tourist attractions in Liberia and we would definitely come back some day with kids. Very family friendly with fun bar games and a bonfire at night. Good wifi for $1 USD and a beautiful waterfall to enjoy!
Jacob Koua I really enjoyed the place, especially the hiking in the forest! The local dishes was delicious, I recommend to inform the owner, in case you wish to spend the night there
Nyema Elliott A must see if you travel to Liberia. Things to know before visiting. From Monrovia, the trip is about 4 hours total (3 to Gbarnga and a little over an hour to reach the waterfalls from there). Once you reach Gbarnga, the road to the waterfalls is not paved so I recommend taking an SUV or car that has 4 wheel drive. The rocks are very slippery, so water shoes with grip help or just go barefoot. There are outdoor bathrooms and food is available there. I’d recommend ordering your food early as it takes a while to get it. We went for the day but there are cabins available or you can bring your own tent and camp out. Overall the trip is worth it if you’re visiting Liberia or if you live in Liberia and never have been.
Jason Everts These pictures are from March of 2022. Nice place to camp and they have tents and mattresses to rent. They also have good food and drinks!