View source for Cave Behind the Falls

{{trope}}
{{quote|Law of ''[[Okami]]''; if there is a waterfall, there's a secret behind it.|[[Chuggaaconroy]]}}

Waterfalls aren't just pretty to look at, they're also great for hiding stuff. Who would ever think to look behind [[Niagara Falls]] to find the hidden treasure of King Whatshisname II? And who would suspect that the [[Big Bad]] would keep his reserve of [[Mook]]s in a cave where nobody would dare enter? The rush of water alone would keep any sane person away.

This is geological [[Truth in Television]] to a certain extent, as the churning water at the base of a waterfall erodes the rock behind it faster than the merely flowing water at the top. However, unlike their fictional counterparts, these caves tend to be shallow, flooded, and thoroughly devoid of [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]].

Naturally, such a cave would be at the bottom of the [[Inevitable Waterfall]]. If you try going that route before entering the hidden cave, chances are you'd be dead before you hit the bottom. But remember, as [[The Grand List of Console Role Playing Game Cliches]] says, "There's always goodies behind the waterfall", so sometimes the risk is worth it.

{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The Wolf Demon clan's lair in ''[[Inuyasha]]'' lays behind a waterfall.
* For maximum dramatic entrance potential, the hangar for Allen's airship the Crusade is located in a cave behind a waterfall in ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]''. Lampshaded by way of Zelda reference in [[The Abridged Series]].
* A Naruto OVA introduces Takigakure, the Hidden Waterfall Village. Naturally, the whole village is one of these.
** In the main story, {{spoiler|the entrance to the temple where Kumo's jinchuuriki learn to control their bijuu was located behind the Waterfall of Truth}}.
* ''[[Toriko]]'' had one, with delicious fish swimming inside it. Oh yeah, and the waterfall was [[Up to Eleven|1000 meters thick.]]
* One episode of ''[[Speed Racer]]'' has a scene in the cave behind [[Niagara Falls]].

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Tintin]] goes through one in "''Prisoners of the Sun''".
* The home of ''[[The Phantom (comic strip)|The Phantom]]'' is in a valley that can only be entered through a tunnel hidden by a waterfall.
* In the French graphic novel ''Pyrénée'' the [[Wild Child]] title character spends some time living with a wise old eagle in a cave behind a waterfall. The cave was once occupied by a human hermit, who left behind a cache of tinned food and some other interesting artifacts.
* In ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'', Mazikeen discovers her estranged mother Lilith's headquarters behind a fortified waterfall. [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Made of swords!]]
* In some versions of the ''[[Buck Rogers]]'' franchise, Buck's headquarters is hidden behind Niagara Falls.

== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[The Last of the Mohicans]]'', the plot not only hinges on one, but the last three Mohicans actually [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|jump out from behind it]] to escape. (after passionately kissing the Monro girls [[Last Kiss|behind the fall]].) Also, it's shot [[Real Life|on location]]; God knows how they recorded in there.
* In the film version of ''[[Eragon (film)|Eragon]]'', the Varden's home base is hidden behind a waterfall. This is acceptable in ''[[Inheritance Cycle|Eragon]]''.
* The Hidden City of Gold in ''[[The Road to El Dorado]]'' is in a valley that can only be entered through a tunnel hidden by a waterfall.
* Draco the dragon lived in a cave behind a waterfall in ''[[Dragonheart]]''.
* In ''[[The Incredibles]]'' the entrance to Syndrome's hideout is a waterfall ''of lava'' with a mechanism that stylishly parts the fall for a dry [[Convection, Schmonvection|(and comfortably cool)]] entrance.
* ''[[George of the Jungle]]'' attempts to [[Hulk Speak|"make Ursula George's mate"]] (with a gorilla courtship display, get your minds out of the gutter) in one of these, [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] by the [[Lemony Narrator|narrator]] as the [[No Fourth Wall|"really big and expensive waterfall set."]]
* The Tumbler exits the Batcave of ''[[Dark Knight Trilogy|Batman Begins]]'' by leaping through a waterfall.
* ''[[The Mask of Zorro]]'' has [[Zorro]]'s hideout in a fairly visible cave behind a tiny waterfall.
* In the [[In Name Only|film version]] of ''[[Jurassic Park]]: The Lost World'', the protagonists (and a [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]] version of real-life Robert Bakker) hide in a cave behind a waterfall to escape the [[Mama Bear|rampaging female T.rex]]. The Robert Bakker-lookalike gets a snake crawling down his shirt and panics, running right into the rex's jaws.
* ''The Myth'' (2005), starring [[Jackie Chan]], who enters the mystical cave near the end of the film through one of these.
* The titular [[MacGuffin Location]] (in which [[Make a Wish|the MacGuffin itself]] is located) in ''[[Behind the Waterfall]]'' is a cave located... wait for it... [[Captain Obvious|behind a waterfall]].
* In Disney's ''[[Moana]]'', the people of Motonui keep the ships of their ancestors hidden in a huge cave behind a waterfall, right on the beach.

== [[Literature]] ==
* The Ithilien Rangers' hideout was behind such a waterfall in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]: The Two Towers''.
** One possible explanation for the name "Elrond" (given in the ''Letters'') goes thus: after the Sack of Sirion, he and his brother were dragged away and later found beside a waterfall. Elros was playing in the water but Elrond had gone into the cave behind the waterfall, hence his name, "Elf of the Cave."
* Sun Wukong from ''[[Journey to the West]]'' discovered Shuilian Cave after jumping through a great big waterfall. He was named king by his monkey clan afterwards, and they all moved in and made the cave their home.
* In the book version of Michael Crichton's ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', after Alan, Tim, and Lex go tumbling over the [[Inevitable Waterfall]], they hide behind said waterfall in order to escape the Tyrannosaur. Grant finds an access door and leaves the kids there while he makes sure it's safe; the kids nearly get eaten in his absence.
* Whoever designed the sets for the South Seas Treasure Game in ''Dream Park'' likes this trope, as Griffin and Acacia find such a niche behind a waterfall in which to mess around.  {{spoiler|It's also where the thief hides the stolen vial of Neutral Scent.}}
* In The ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'', the entrance to the Varden is located behind a waterfall.
* Book three of the ''The Magician's House'' series is called ''The Tunnel behind the Waterfall''.
* In the ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' series, the Tribe of Rushing Water lives in one of these, and actually is named after the falls.

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* In the ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' episode "The Shrine", the titular location is an example of this trope.
* ''[[Power Rangers Ninja Storm]]'': The [[Ninja School|Wind Ninja Academy]] (trashed in the first episode) and, by extension, Ninja Ops (season-long base), are hidden behind one, although the waterfall is actually an illusion.

== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* According to Hawaiian myth, the goddess Hina lives in the cave behind Rainbow Falls on the Big Island.

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' has [http://magiccards.info/isd/en/248.html Sulfur Falls]

== [[Video Games]] ==
* Possibly{{verify}} the earliest example of all: ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' has an old man who tells you "WALK INTO THE WATERFALL". Doing so yields an old lady who gives you a hint to finding the next dungeon.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'' has one in Zora's Domain, hiding a Great Fairy fountain.
** The same goes for ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]'', this one actually hiding Zora's Domain itself. A second waterfall inside the Domain hides two torches; figuring out how to get fire back there nets you a [[Heart Container|Piece of Heart]].
*** ''Twilight Princess'' also had this, except that it was frozen the first time you found it.
*** Over at the other end of the map, an alcove behind the [[Inevitable Waterfall]] below the bridge to the Gerudo Fortress contains another Piece of Heart.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]]'' has a minor cave behind a waterfall, in the [[Big Boo's Haunt|undead]] kingdom of Ikana.
** There's one in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker]]'', hiding Makar in the second half of the game.
** Several waterfalls in [[The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages|''The Legend of Zelda: Oracle'' games]] have caves at the top.
** ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' has an entire dungeon hidden behind a massive waterfall.
** A variation in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'': While there is a waterfall, and a dungeon behind it, there is no way to walk through the flow to get to the dungeon and it is visible through the stream of water.
** And oodles more in the [[Once Per Episode|Once Per Game]] Water level.
* Some of the waterfalls in the Mercury Lighthouse in ''[[Golden Sun]]'' had treasure behind them.
** And a Djinn which could be easy to miss if you were new to RPGs.
*** Mercury Lighthouse is [[Justified Trope|justified]] as the waterfalls, their caves, and the entire complex are artificially created; it's a stylistic choice on the part of the Lighthouse's designer.
** Not to mention that there's [http://goldensun.wikia.com/wiki/Fuchin_Falls_Cave a whole dungeon] behind a waterfall.
* ''[[Steambot Chronicles]]'' has a waterfall where one of the mysterious sages lives.
* In ''[[Chrono Cross]]'', the only way to get the [[MacGuffin Title|Titular]] [[MacGuffin]] necessary to defeat the final boss correctly and get the [[Gainax Ending|good ending]] is to [[Guide Dang It|go behind a waterfall, whose location on the world map isn't labeled or even really mentioned clearly]]. Yeah.
* Most ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games make use of this trope.
** You'll be asked to take your canoe through a waterfall in ''[[Final Fantasy I]]'' to find a key that gives you access to the floating castle.
** ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' has a waterfall cave in one of its early dungeons. The exit to the same dungeon is also behind a waterfall, which is guarded by Octomammoth.
** ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'' has one of the [[Plot Coupon|tablets]] hidden behind a waterfall.
** ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' hides, among many things, Vincent's ultimate weapon behind a waterfall.
** ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' has a waterfall cave (inside a tree by the way) which leads to the battle with Ramuh.
*** Not to mention the other waterfall cave that leads to the hidden city of Norg. And the ''other other'' waterfall cave in Gustaberg.
* ''[[Endless Ocean]]'' has one of these for the final portion of its Great Aqua Caves area. That's right, an ''underwater waterfall''.
* In ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'', early in the game, the player must dam a river in order to enter a secret tunnel hidden behind a waterfall. There is a plot-critical key at the end of the tunnel. Interestingly, although there is no treasure inside aside from said key inside the cave, there is a treasure on a support beam right in front of the tunnel's entrance.
** In ''[[Resident Evil 1]]'', the underground passage to the Laboratory (or Lisa's hideout in the remake) is hidden behind a waterfall, which you reveal by closing the floodgate after unlocking an alternate path around.
* The Cavern of the Metal Cap in ''[[Super Mario 64]]''.
* ''[[EarthBound]]'' has one with a twist: [[Waiting Puzzle|You have to wait 3 minutes to get in]].
* ''[[Ōkami]]'' makes heavy use of this trope - making it easy to find secrets if you know it. Once Issun even ''tells'' you to jump down a waterfall, and though you don't have to, sure enough, there's a cave there {{spoiler|with a wall you can bomb to get a Stray Bead}}.
* The aptly named Waterfall Cave in ''[[Dragon Quest VIII]]''.
* One of the worlds in ''[[Black and White]]'' had a goodie behind a waterfall.
* Koopa Troopa Beach in ''[[Mario Kart 64]]''.
* In ''[[Star Fox Adventures]]'', the small waterfall in Thorntail Hollow can be bomb spored for some Fuel Cells and a couple of health items. Later, in Cape Claw, an item needed to open a door is hidden in a chamber you reach by swimming through a cavern beyond the waterfall. You can only get there by turning the waterfall off.
* In ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' Legend attempted to outdo it by putting a whole open temple behind some falls.
* ''[[Ultima]]''-clone ''[[Savage Empire]]'' has a plot-required cave behind a waterfall, but in a subversion of sorts this cave is plainly visible, but the dimension-travelling world-saving uber-fighter protagonist is ''unable to walk through'' the water until he diverts the stream. Supposedly he is afraid of getting wet.
** ''[[Ultima V]]'' has a cave ''under'' a waterfall, where you end up by going down the waterfall by boat or by carpet.
* ''[[King's Quest IV]]'' has one of these. You can't walk through the water here, either, but you can swim as soon as you {{spoiler|shapeshift into the much more muscular (?) form of a frog}}.
* ''[[Leisure Suit Larry]] III'' has one, too, except that you enter from the other end.
* ''[[Space Quest]] II'' has the ''exit'' to a cave behind (i.e. through) a waterfall.
* In ''[[Hydro Thunder]]'', one is occasionally surprised by ''not'' finding a tunnel behind one of the many, many waterfalls. Not infrequently, behind-the-falls tunnels are the ''main channel'' rather than any sort of secret.
* An early dungeon in ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers]] of Time/Darkness/Sky'' is hidden behind a waterfall. The leap of faith into it provides an early bit of [[Character Development]] for the partner character.
{{quote|''"Be brave... Be the bravest ever!"''}}
** The mainstream games added one in the most recent games, Heart Gold and Soul Silver. There is a cave behind one of the Tohjo Falls, in which a certain mafia-style villain had spent the past three years in...
* The GBA version of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]: The Return of the King'' has a cave as a bonus map behind waterfall in the map after the fight in Minas Tirith. It contains a free rune, and it resets enemy in the previous map. Sucks for someone who hates fighting trolls.
* [[That One Level|Latheon Gorge]] in ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' comes to an end in one of these - although you repeatedly enter and exit the cave throughout the dungeon, the final entrance is opened by dropping a huge boulder into the waterfall, unveiling the cave entrance behind it. Of course, there's a [[MacGuffin]] and a huge [[Man-Eating Plant]] in there.
** Also, while there are no caves involved, there's goodies behind the mini waterfalls in the Torrent Forest later in the game.
* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', Snake and Eva rendezvous in one of these.
* In ''[[Breath of Fire II]]'' the second set of dragon powers is hidden in one of these. To get inside you need to have Jean in your party so it is recommended you do this before a certain plot event which removes him from your party for quite a while.
* Both ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]]'' games make use of this in combination with the games' static cameras, making it so the player will only actually notice the waterfall with treasure behind it if they specifically set out to see if something's behind it.
* A jumping puzzle and the Key To the World lurks behind the waterfall of the ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]''-themed world in the first ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' game.
* In ''[[Croc]] 2'', one could go through the waterfall during the first boat race to find an [[Game Breaker|extremely helpful]] shortcut.
* In ''[[Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge]]'', there's a plot coupon behind a waterfall. At the top of the mountain where you'll find a valve. If you curiously try to use your monkey on it ([[A Worldwide Punomenon|"monkey wrench"]], get it?) you'll turn off the waterfall, revealing the cave.
* Every single waterfall in ''[[Tenchu]]: Stealth Assassins'' hides a cave with an item in it.
* In the second commentary preview of ''[[Brutal Legend]]'', the creators talked about how it was considered a bug if there wasn't something behind every waterfall.
* ''[[Betrayal at Krondor]]'' has the Dark Secret that ends Chapter 3 in one of these.
* ''[[Onimusha]]'' has a cave behind a waterfall that contains the best armor in the game.
* ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]]'' has a secret room behind a waterfall in the caverns under the castle.
* One of the Ages in ''[[Myst|Uru]]'' features caves behind a set of waterfalls. Moving something into the cave without getting wet is one of the Age's challenges.
* In a nod to this trope's ubiquity in video games, ''[[Nancy Drew (video game)|Nancy Drew]]: Resorting To Danger'' features a secret control panel that's hidden behind a ''decorative'' waterfall in the resort's laser-treatment room.
* There's a couple of dungeons hidden this way in ''[[Dragon Fable]]''.
* ''[[Devil May Cry]] 3'' has one of these.
* In the first area (the mines) in ''[[Blackthorne]]'', there are several doorways behind waterfalls.
* The [[Text Adventure]] ''Dragon's World'' has this. It turns out to be a back door into the lair of the game's [[Big Bad]].
* In ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'', there's a small alcove behind a waterfall in Spiral Mountain. In it is an extra life.
** In ''Banjo-Tooie'', there's a cave which has one of the secret eggs. It's not so much behind the waterfall as it is the ''source'' of it, but the game still calls it "Behind the Waterfall."
* The Patriarch's lair is one of these in ''[[Divinity 2]]''.
* Some ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' games will have a waterfall with either a mine or arable land located behind it.
* ''[[Purple]]'' uses this twice. One is for [[Bonus Stage]] and the other is for advancing further into the stage.
* [[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]] has a keyhole hidden in a cavern behind a waterfall.
* ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'''s Chao Garden hides the entrance to the Chao Stadium inside a cave behind a waterfall.
** ''[[Sonic Generations]]'' has the Modern iteration of [[Green Hill Zone]], where Sonic goes through a waterfall into a tunnel, which opens out into a gigantic cavern with rail grinding and a giant mechanical fish chasing him, before blasting back outside.
* In ''[[Wii Fit]]'', the virtual island has one of these leading up to the highest part of the island and the little Mario-style castle.
* Several of these show up throughout the ''[[Spyro the Dragon]]'' series, the rewards varying in each game.
* ''[[Diddy Kong Racing]]'' has a whole world hidden behind a waterfall, which is evidenced when the music changes when you get close to the waterfall.
* Step one: Play ''[[Elder Scrolls]] V: Skyrim''. Step two: find a waterfall. Step three: go behind the waterfall. Step four: profit.<ref>Okay, not ''all'' the time, but checking behind waterfalls will frequently reveal either a dungeon, or a small cave with some treasure.</ref>
* Many stages in ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]'' will have either a 1-Up or Star Coin behind waterfalls.

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[Kim Possible]]'': In "The Twin Factor", Dr. Drakken's lair-of-the-episode is hidden behind a tall waterfall.
* Disney's ''[[Robin Hood (film)|Robin Hood]]'': Robin and Little John's hideout is behind a waterfall.
* Lampshaded in ''[[Mike Lu and Og]]'':
{{quote|'''Og''': Why does it always have to be ''behind'' the waterfall?}}
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': One episode showed a ghost portal Wulf made to be behind a waterfall.
* The ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' cartoon series does this in two episodes: ''Valley of the Unicorns'' and ''Cave of the Fairie Dragons''
* [[The Sixth Ranger|Gusto Gummi's]] Studio in ''[[Adventures of the Gummi Bears]]''.
** In one episode Cubbi and Tummi also discovered a Gummi Warrior training facility behind a waterfall.
* ''[[Captain Comic]] II''. This isn't hinted at either, but you can press the key for "enter doorway" in front of a waterfall to get to certain hidden areas.
* In the ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' episode "The Emerald Duck", the ancient [[Doomsday Device]] is hidden behind the Great Waterfall.
* In one ''[[Futurama]]'' episode, Bender - having upgraded his processor to godlike levels - hides out in one of these. [[Non Sequitur Episode|Then things get weird.]]

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