I start to like this one. You're doing a great job with the graphics of the cliff.
The water seems to be a bit dark for me.
Water is colourless so a river or lake can have two colors: the colour of the bed beneath (if it's not deep) or the reflection of the sky (if it's deep). Both aren't dark blue.

Concerning the cliff I would say, that you could do it a bit more naturally and more interesting.
It's too straight for my taste and it doesn't break up or has some minor slopes or terraces.

The idea with the stairs (hm, what else) is good.
What is the scale of your map?
Keep in mind that a stair escalating 150 m has to be 200 m long, better 250 m or 280 m.