Rivers of Chile

A short burst of paddling in the Futrono Zone. Best during highwater springtime run off or after periods of sustained rain.

Caunehue whitewater
This short class IV+ stretch is on the northern shore of Lago Ranco just east of the town of Futrono in Chile’s recently created Region XIV aptly called Region de Los Rios. [...]

Posted on December 11th, 2009 by Valentin
Filed under: Region XIV De Los Rios, chile, class 4 | Comments Off

A rumbling steep creek coming off the permanent snowfields of Nevados de Solipulli is the Rio Trafanpulli. In local Mapadungo language the meaning is “junction of the valleys”.

French kayaker Valentin Grollemund
I first started looking at this creek in 1995 but it was not until 2009 that I was able to get back to run [...]

Posted on December 2nd, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 4, class 5, pucon | No Comments »

The famed Bío-Bío, Chile’s second longest river, originates in the heart of Mapuche-Pehuenche territory. The nacimiento, or birthplace of the river, is primeval and unforgettable. Araucarias, one of the Earth’s three oldest surviving tree species, stand sentinel along a shore framed by distant peaks straddling the border between Chile and Argentina.
Float this headwater run [...]

Posted on November 25th, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 2, class 3 | No Comments »

Although the upper canyons now lay dormant under man made reservoirs, the lowest section of the Bío-Bío still offers intermittent whitewater, easy access, and pleasant scenery and a reminder of what was lost upstream. Its class II-III rapids will challenge, terrify, and delight the novice. During the mellow interludes, you will have plenty of time [...]

Posted on November 25th, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 2, class 3 | No Comments »

The Renegado is a seldom run creek that plummets off of Volcan Chillan (3186 meters). It is small so usually gone by beginning of December but might come up in summer months after several days of heavy rain.

Mellow takeout on the Renegado
The normal stretch is a class 4, 8 km section with ideal flows of [...]

Posted on November 24th, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region VII, chile, class 4 | No Comments »

To reach the put-in from Curracautín go west on the paved road towards Victoria and you will cross Puente Dillo in 4-1/2 kilometers (first you will pass over Puente Amantible). After crossing the bridge immediately turn right and drive up a private road until you reach a locked gate. We were given permission from landowner [...]

Posted on November 23rd, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 3, class 4 | No Comments »

The Captren flows off the snow-covered, north western flank of Volcan Llaima (3125 meters) and has it’s headwaters within The Parque Nacional Conguillio at Laguna Captren. The river, however, is not runnable in its upper reaches but instead provides the right combination of gradient and flow for it’s final 3 km descent to the confluence [...]

Posted on November 23rd, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 3, class 4, waterfalls | No Comments »

The Rio Blanco is an easy access, class 3 run flowing off the snowfields on the southern flank of Volcan Tolhuaca.

Tolhuaca Volcano view from put in
The run is best done during peak spring runoff or after extended periods of heavy rain. The water is ice cold. It is perhaps the only run in Chile where [...]

Posted on November 23rd, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 3 | No Comments »

Draining the South Western flank of Volcan Llaima (3125 meters) is the deceivingly innocent Rio Calbuco. After meandering thru braided debris flows coming off the flanks of the volcano, the river tightens up at Puente Calbuco for it’s thundering 8 km descent to the confluence with Rio Quepe below town of Cherquenco.

Fields Marshall at confluence [...]

Posted on November 22nd, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region IX, chile, class 3, class 4 | No Comments »

Written by Greg Moore
The emerald Río Manso flows through a wild canyon in Parque Nacional Nahual Huapi (Mapuche for “Tiger Island”) south of the ski resort town of San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. The river drains the southeast flank of Monte Tronador (3491 m) (‘Thunderer’ or ‘Anon’ in Mapuche, whose meaning is almost identical to [...]

Posted on October 27th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: argentina, class 4, class 5 | No Comments »

The Palena is a beautiful, although blustery, multi-day trip with nary a trace of whitewater. A dense pall of fog clings to Volcán Melimoyú (2400 m), the lofty summit that overlooks the lower river west of the Carretera Austral. Much of the forest is uncut, having escaped the fire-ravaged scenarios in other parts of Patagonia. [...]

Posted on October 27th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 2 | No Comments »

Boaters migrating down the Carretera Austral inevitably flock to the Piedra del Gato overlook to check out the Río Cisnes. For good reason, this roadside canyon is a great place to unwind and stretch your legs after circumventing the southwest corner of Cordillera Queulat. If you decide to paddle the Cisnes, you’ll find some tough, [...]

Posted on October 25th, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region XI, chile, class 4 | No Comments »

Volcanic ash and cinders blanket the Río Cajón basin, which lies downwind from Volcán Hudson (1369 m). After laying dormant for twenty years, Hudson erupted in August 1991 wreaking considerable property damage and environmental change in Chile Chico and western Argentina. Meter-thick ash deposits buried a 25 km section of the Carretera Austral.
Spend the time, [...]

Posted on October 25th, 2009 by Josh Lowry
Filed under: Region XI, chile, class 5 | No Comments »

Flowing warm and transparent out of Lago Pirehueico deep in the heart of Chile’s Lake District, the Fuy’s astonishing clarity is a sight to behold. With a dense canopy of coihue trees overhanging its banks, the river has an exotic, even ethereal, Gondwanaland feel to it.

Michael Shields crashing thru the wavetrain below Puente Huilo-Huilo its [...]

Posted on October 25th, 2009 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region XIV De Los Rios, chile, class 3, class 4 | No Comments »

The Río Blanco cuts through canyons of geology run amok in the northeastern sector of Reserva Nacional Cerro Castillo. The most prominent peak in the park, Cerro Castillo (2675 m), was so named because its craggy ridges and basalt turrets resemble a medieval castle. For the geology enthusiast, the river corridor offers a cornucopia of [...]

Posted on October 25th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region XI, chile, class 4 | No Comments »

The Río Petrohué drains Lago Todos los Santos in Parque Nacional Vicente Perez Rosales. It is the largest park in the Chilean Lake District and adjoins Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi in Argentina to form one of the biggest contiguous tracts of protected trans-Andean wilderness in South America. Established in 1926, it is the second oldest [...]

Posted on October 24th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 4, class 5 | No Comments »

The lower Petrohué is a popular commercial raft trip and a good run for intermediate kayakers. Its wide-open rapids require a minimum of maneuvering to negotiate safely. Surfing the warm, azure waves entail backing down and stroking hard because there are few convenient eddies. Calm interludes allow ample time to gaze at the lofty heights [...]

Posted on October 24th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 3 | No Comments »

This tributary of the Tinguiririca features great views of the Cordilleras Rubiana and Huemulina, good class III whitewater, and a wealth of desert wildflowers in the spring. Aspiring intermediate boaters will enjoy this river. On our only run, we had a scratchy flow of 7-10 cms. With more water, its pool-drop rapids would undoubtedly get [...]

Posted on October 24th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region VI, chile, class 3 | No Comments »

Don’t be fooled by the low average gradient on the upper Cisnes. Its citadel rock walls reverberate with the roar of great whitewater rising from the abyss. Located east of the Carretera Austral, this precipitous canyon forms the southeastern boundary of Parque Nacional Queulat. Although off the beaten, dusty track, the magnificence of this [...]

Posted on October 24th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 4, class 5 | No Comments »

On our first descent in February 1998, Joe Larrow, John Hart, Aaron Pruzan, Robby Dastin, and I encountered an irritatingly low flow at the put-in. If there had been a road nearby, I would have bailed out. Nevertheless, we persevered only to encounter bumping and grinding class III boulder gardens in the headwaters and grueling [...]

Posted on October 24th, 2009 by John Foss (posthumously)
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 5 | No Comments »