The Pen Pych waterfall walk isn’t exactly secret, but it is much quieter than many of the walks in the neighbouring Brecon Beacons. You can find Pen Pych in the Rhondda Fawr valley near Treherbert. Many visitors drive past the area on the way to the Brecon Beacons missing out on some beautifully rugged Welsh countryside.
Where Is Pen Pych?
The Pen Pych Forest Car Park is only 3 miles from the centre of Treorchy in the Rhondda Fawr valley, South Wales. The parking is free which is quite unusual these days. So there is no need for a bag of change for that dreaded “Pay and Display” machine.
The path from the car park is well defined and initially follows a shallow incline which isn’t too wet and muddy. Although, this will change as you head up the valley. The distance to the waterfall is about 1.5 miles so doesn’t involve a long hike.
On the way, you’ll start to hear the rush of the water and get glimpses of the lower waterfalls. There are a couple of small rest areas with tables and benches.
Pen Pych Waterfall
Pen Pych is a flat top mountain and isn’t particularly high (442m/1 450ft a.s.l ). Although you do still get great views from the top. The waterfall itself is close to the summit and its tallest single drop is 21m. Obviously, the ferocity of the flow is weather dependant. Even though it hadn’t been raining that hard, the waterfall was quite impressive during my visit.
You can get quite close to the falls themselves but use your common sense as the rocks can get slippery.
It is worth taking the short walk to the top of the mountain to get the views down the valley. You now have a choice, you can either walk back down to the car park or if you want to extend the route you can do the circular walk along the ridgeway around the top of the valley. This route does pass a couple of additional waterfalls before descending to Blaenhondda and back through the village to the forest car park.
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