Kayak Guide to Whitewater of Peru

Maranon River whitewater kayaking

John Wasson and some friends first ran the Rio Marañon in 1977 in hollowform kayaks. Their one-month navigation of the river’s course was a major accomplishment given the equipment of the era is heralded as one of the first successful explorations of the “Big canyons” of the Peruvian Andes. Parts of the lower section of [...]

Sonches

The Rio Sonches is a steep-walled, high jungle adventure in the North of Peru. The run originates in the highlands of the Department of Amazonas and for the first 50 km follows the Chacapoyas-Mendoza road system. This upper stretch is relaxed, roadside boating and would be a good high water [...]

Mantaro

Born in the highlands of the department of Pasco is one of Peru’s mightiest Rivers known as the Mantaro. Its course is directly southward through the mining town La Oroya and on past Peru’s third largest city, Huancayo. Beyond here the river is twice dammed forming Peru’s single largest source of hydroelectric power. The fertile [...]

Huallaga

The Upper Huallaga has not yet been totally conquered. In early July 1999 Ethan Green, John Mattson, Mark Fair and myself bailed out of a first descent after 5 days. Our goal was to reach the town of Tingo Maria at 600 meters elevation. We gave it a hell of an effort but never reached [...]

Mayo

The Mayo River is located in the Department of San Martin flowing East from the Andes into the Huallaga River. There are three runnable sections between Moyobamba and the Huallaga River, two sections in the middle Mayo and one in the lower Mayo.
The Mayo is formed by several small creeks that drop from the eastern [...]

Hullabamba

A trip down the Huallabamba is a whitewater odyssey into the depths of Peru’s remote high jungle rainforest. The river starts in the Department of Amazonas and passes through the Department of San Martin on its way to the confluence with the Río Huallaga. The 160 km journey can be run in kayaks in 5-6 [...]

Utcubamba

Born in the highlands of the central cordillera, the Rio Utcubamba flows through the Department of Amazonas on a northerly course before joining the mighty Marañon. The river takes its name from Quechua and means “fields of cotton”.
The river can be thought of as an upper stretch and a lower stretch all of which is [...]

Pozuzo

The Pozuzo is an incredible adventure down a seldom visited valley in the central cordillera. For the first three days the Pozuzo follows a road and can be boated in one-day stretches via car camping or overnight sojourns from the town of Pozuzo. The ideal time of year is the month of June but some [...]