A Whitewater guide to the rivers of chile
The Río Clarillo is a high-quality springtime creek run in the Santiago area. The beauty of the Clarillo (like its name implies) is its crystal clear waters tumbling unimpeded over granite boulders. Unlike the other runs in the Santiago area, the Clarillo has clear water without a dam upstream.
A typical drop on the Clarillo
The river [...]
Posted on November 8th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: Santiago Metropolitan Region, chile, class 3 | No Comments »
I have trouble recommending the Río Colorado. On one hand it is one of the closest rivers to Santiago with an almost guaranteed strong water flow, paved roadside access and solid class IV rapids but on the other hand it is dangerous with very dark silt-laden water.
If you plan to run the river my biggest [...]
Posted on November 8th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: Santiago Metropolitan Region, chile, class 4 | No Comments »
This is the training ground for Santiago’s kayaking community. Most Chilean kayakers get their start on the Maipo. Only an hour from the city with year round flows, a viable rafting community, plenty of places to stay/eat, and relatively easy paved roadside access, the Maipo is a favorite among locals and a good start for [...]
Posted on November 8th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: Santiago Metropolitan Region, chile, class 3, class 4 | No Comments »
Tumbling off the flanks of the magnificent 3717 meter Volcan Lanin are the headwaters of Pucon’s Trancura River. While lower sections of the river close to Pucon see hundred’s of daily visitors from the numerous rafting companies, the upper reaches of the river are rarely explored.
At a distance of only 67 KM from Pucon is [...]
Posted on October 27th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: chile, class 5, pucon | Comments Off
Rio Rininahue is just down the road from Salto del Nilahue. It also flows into Lago Ranco. Usually, this river has extremely high flow for its micro gorge character all summer long. Best run very late summer. 1st descented February 2008, which was a low water year, by myself and Evan Garcia. We estimated [...]
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by jared
Filed under: chile, class 5, waterfalls | No Comments »
Located south of Pucon in the Lake District. Rio Nilahue flows into Lago Ranco. The river only has one drop a Park n Huck 60 ft sloping waterfall. The falls changed recently making the drop more runnable. 1st descented by LJ Groth and Trip Jennings before the geological change. Previous drop was a 50+ foot boof [...]
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by jared
Filed under: chile, class 5, waterfalls | No Comments »
Located in the Maule region. Rough road to the put-in where the entire river comes from a tunnel. Put-in Notice the water from the tunnel coming in from river right. Picture taken looking downstream.Put in beauty Great boogie class five rapids. One big river wide 6ft ledge hole about 1/3 of the way down. Scout and portage right. [...]
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by jared
Filed under: chile, class 5 | No Comments »
The Rio Gol Gol, if you can deal with the heinous culiwachos during the summer months(similar to horse flies), is in my opinion the best bang for your buck waterfall run in Chile. Easy put-in on the border of Argentina, literally at the border. Drops in order. 1st drop Salto de Novios(overlook from the road) [...]
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by jared
Filed under: chile, class 5, waterfalls | No Comments »
Getting to the Maule can be very confusing but the rewards are worth it. The Maule features warm water and 21 km of class 3-5 whitewater with a big water feel. Located in Chile’s 7th region the Maule is a good run to help break up the drive for kayakers in transit from Santiago to [...]
Posted on February 8th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region VII, chile, class 4, class 5 | No Comments »
The Espolon is a mellow float with some occasional play and spectacular water quality. For 20 years the river has been a favorite training run for beginner kayakers visiting the Futaleufú area. With easy roadside access and close proximity to the town of Futaleufú the river sees a surprising number of visitors in the [...]
Posted on February 8th, 2008 by kurt casey
Filed under: Region X, chile, class 2, class 3 | No Comments »
RSS Feed