Pistyll Rhaeadr is formed by the Afon Disgynfa (disgynfa also means "waterfall") falling, in three stages, over a 240-foot (73 m)[1]Silurian cliff-face, below which the river is known as the Afon Rhaeadr. The tallest stage is estimated at 40 metres (130 ft).[2] It is counted as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The 19th-century author George Borrow, in his book Wild Wales, remarked of the waterfall: "What shall I liken it to? I scarcely know, unless it is to an immense skein of silk agitated and disturbed by tempestuous blasts, or to the long tail of a grey courser at furious speed. I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here."
There is car-parking space near the foot of the waterfall for people who want to explore the waterfall, with a café and a B&B alongside.
The waterfall is often referred to by the media,[3][4] government sources,[5] and other sources[6] as the tallest in Wales or the tallest single drop in the United Kingdom.[7] However, it is not a single drop, and both its single drop height and its total height are surpassed by both the Devil's Appendix and Pistyll y Llyn, as well as several other waterfalls.[8][9]