Best Apurimac river rafting

03 days / 02 nights

Apart from being a world class rapid, the Apurimac boasts pristine sandy beaches for camping, spectacular sun-bleached rock formations and rare wildlife including otters, puma and the ultra elusive Andean bear.

It is an adventure lover’s dreams come true.

• Level : Moderate to challenging.
• Class III, IV+ rapids.
• Swimming skills required.
• Season : From May to November.
• Location : South west of Cusco
• Departures : Any day upon request.
• Meeting point : Cusco city.

Itinerary:  

Day 1: Cusco – Huajachaca bridge at the Apurimac river

After breakfast at your hotel, transfer from Cusco to Inca bridge of Huajachaca (Apurimac river), used by the antique Peruvians to exchange goods between the Pacific Ocean coast and Cusco as the capital of the empire at (2100 meters). Lunch will be shared at the river shore.

At this point we will meet the other part of the crew, our river rafting guides, all the equipment and gear to continue with our expedition by the river. They will give us a safety briefing before getting to the class II – III rapids of this fantastic river. We will start to paddle and find bases of old bridges used since centuries by Incas until now.

Dinner will be served at the campsite around the campfire. All meals included.

Timing:

7.00 am – Transfer Cusco to Apurimac river.
12:00 pm – Meeting at Huajachaca (Apurimac river)
14:30 pm – After safety talk, We start our rafting trip for the next 2 hours.
16:30 pm – Camping.
17:50 pm – Sunset.

Distance:

First 5 kms to Rocoto village with a gentle downhill.
Last 5 kms to reach the river with more inclined down hill.

Total hike altitude lost during hike: 1,200 meters in 5-6 hours.

Total section of the river to be run in the next days 52 kilometers.

Day 2: Santo Tomas river – “3 Condor rapids” at the black canyon.

After a healthy breakfast we will walk around the campsite to admire the vegetation like bromeliads and orchids.

In the morning, we will take some easy rapids and pass the nice part of the canyon, admire some waterfalls and have the chance to explore a little creek. Then, after cross calm waters and black rock for about 2 to 3 hours, we will meet a tributary called Santo Tomas river and continue by an amazing limestone canyon.

We will have lunch at a sandy beach. After lunch, we will run quite a few class 3 rapids and have the big chance to find river otters, some deers, cormorants, torrent ducks and other tropical Andean birds.

In the afternoon we will pass many old suspended bridges along the river and have another set of rapids like “3 condores”, before setting up camp in a nice sandy beach. Full meals included.

Timing:

5:00 am – Sunrise
6:30 am – Breakfast
8:30/9:00 am – Start rafting after load the rafts.
10:30 am – Continue rafting and snacks at Santo Tomas river join.
12:30 pm – Lunch.
14:00 pm/16:30pm – Rafting.
16:30 pm – Set up camp.
17:50 pm – Sunset.

Day 3: “The other right” rapids – Hualpachaca bridge – Cusco

After breakfast, we will run the most intense sets of class III to IV pool-drops rapids, called “The other right” among others.

Also, we will have time to explore a couple of waterfall creeks. We will have lunch at the end of our adventure, followed by a four-hour drive to Cusco in our private vehicle. We will drop you off at your hotel.

Breakfast and lunch included.

Timing:

5:00 am – Sunrise.
6:30 am – Breakfast.
8:30 am – Load boats and start rafting.
11:00 am – Arrive to take out.
12:00 pm – Leave the river for our 4-5 hours drive back to Cusco.
13:00 pm – Lunch at a sightseeing point.
18:30 pm – Arrive Cusco 115 Kms to drive back to Cusco city.

**Prices may vary depending on travel dates. For more information, fill in the form to get in contact with a Travel Advisor.

What’s included:

Transportation to and from the river.
All meals and excellent diet during the expedition (2 Breakfast, 3 Lunch, 2 Dinner).
All professional rafting equipment (dries bags and class V river gear).
High quality rafting equipment and self-bailing rafts.
One Safety Kayak for each 2 boats.
All camping gear (screen dining tent, double person tents, mattress, etc).
Safety and professional river procedure.
Best Peruvians class V river guides (International training, swift water rescue and wilderness first responder courses).
Professional first aid kit.
Environmental care.