Rio Negro
For years I had heard rumors of a waterfall infested river in the South of Chile named the Río Negro. This year I ran into a Swiss boater named Toro who not only had heard of the river but in … Read More »
A Whitewater guide to the rivers of chile
For years I had heard rumors of a waterfall infested river in the South of Chile named the Río Negro. This year I ran into a Swiss boater named Toro who not only had heard of the river but in … Read More »
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 … Read More »
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 … Read More »
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 … Read More »
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 … Read More »
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, … Read More »
Max Blackburn running Salto de Alerces on the Rio Manso Argentina.The Rio Manso about 300 km south of Bariloche is located within Los Alerces National park. You have to pay to enter the park during the day. Park Rangers leave … Read More »
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 … Read More »
The Upper Palguín is one of Chile’s premier waterfall runs. A partial first descent was made in February 1990 by John Foss and Christine Blask. Two years later John returned with Dave Black, John Mattson and Kurt Casey to complete … Read More »
The Class 5 Baker is one of the world’s premier big water runs. Set in a remote arid location in the XI Region of southern Chile, the Baker drains Lago General Carrera. The lake at 590 meters depth is the … Read More »
The Rio Llizán tumbles of the Southern Flank of Volcan Quetrupillan (2009 meters). The run has two distinct sections each of which packs action and potential dangers. Unfortunately it is difficult to have proper water level to run both sections … Read More »
A class 4-5 kayak trip with unsurpassed scenery located in vicinity of Futaleufú. On a sunny day the put in has spectacular views of Volcan Michinmahuida whose hanging glaciers (ventisqueros) are the source of some high quality whitewater. River soon … Read More »
The crystal clear, iridescent waters of the Maichín are home to one of the Pucón area’s classic rivers. Set in an incredibly beautiful canyon the Maichín has everything one could ask forsolid class 4/5 whitewater, excelent fishing, natural streambed, consistent … Read More »
The Rio Panqui is another Pucon springtime waterfall run. Although the river is referred to by local gringo boaters as the “Spank-me”, the orgin of the name is derived from the local Mapuche language and means Puma. The river comes … Read More »
I am not sure where this river derived its name but the “bueno” portion is very fitting. I first visited the river on December 13, 1997 with John Foss, Josh Lowry and Robbie Dastin. The scenery was spectacular and the … Read More »
This springtime gem is right in the Pucon area. It was first run until the winter of 1994 when locals Robby Dastin, Gigo Castillo and Rick Bravo made the initial exploration. Several days of rain are required make this small … Read More »
The Yeso is an class 4+/5- creek run in the headwaters of the Maipo Valley. The source of the river are the high peaks on the Argentinian border near the Termas del Plomo. The highest peak is Cerro Marmolejo at … Read More »
It was not until December of 2004 that this classic river was discovered. Robbie Dastin, Pucon resident and Pioneer of numerous Chilean first descents found the river and did the first D with Russel Kelly and Mateo Wilson. The water … Read More »
Flowing off both the southern flanks of Volcan Villarica (2840 meters) and Volcan Quetrupillan (2360 meters) is the Rio Llancahue. The river is directly south of the town of Pucon on the opposite side of the volcano. Pronounced Yan-Cow-Weh the … Read More »
The Rio Nevado is one of Pucon’s classic steep creek runs. The river cascades off the Picos del Caburgua (1952 meters) and forms one of the upper tributaries of the Liucura. The run is just outside of the border of … Read More »