This exciting experience, ranked among the 10 best rafting trips in the world starts from the City of Cusco to the Apurímac River or "great talker" as it is popularly known. The Apurimac river is one of the most visited places by sportsmen who like adrenaline, considered one of the deepest in America as well as one of the best rivers in the world for whitewater rafting with class II rapids, III to V. With an excellent climate and a sensation of roller coaster over the boat are interspersed with gentle stretches in which the raft is carried by the river, while extraordinary rock formations are appreciated. During the afternoon the expedition leaves the river to settle on sandy beaches and set up camp. Bonfires, a sky covered with stars and the sound of the river mark nights of tranquility and meditation.
The famous Apurímac river canyon "El Dios que habla" or "The River God who speaks the Incas" is ideal for sports activities such as boating by the force of the waters of its river. The route in the Apurímac is quite demanding and requires absolute concentration. Those who know the Apurímac always say that he is the one who commands, that is why the river deserves all possible respect.Come and enjoy this tour through the waters of the Apurimac River.
Day 01: Cusco – Apurimac River Canyon
Day 02: Apurimac River
Day 03: Apurimac River – Cusco
Crew: A Salkantay Trek Machu representative in Cusco and a professional Tour Guide specialized in rafting trips on Apurimac River.
Accommodation: 2x campsite.
Meals: 2x breakfast, 2x lunch, 2x dinner.
Transportation: A private transportation, a river raft.
Important: It is recommended to go in the company of specialists, since the route of the river is interrupted even by the presence of cataracts.
At 9 am, we start out our rafting holidays by a 4 hour ride northwest of Cusco (3,400 masl) across the Andes down to the Apurimac River Canyon - a 3,000 metre deep canyon, twice as deep as the U.S. Grand Canyon!! The 690 km long Apurimac River is the main source of the Amazon River making it the world´s longest river! These ensure us much better rafting contidions than a Grand Canyon rafting tour could offer us!
When we reach the Huallpachaca Village (2,000 masl), we get ready our equipment (self-bailing rafts, paddles, oars, helmets, coolers, life-jackets, wet-suits and others) which takes about 2 hours. Then, we are given a talk on safety and rafting techniques such as know-how on getting back into a raft, a flip of a raft, swimming rapids, etc. Then, we have lunch to afterward start a water ride for about 2 hours doing rapids of class II and III. Later the afternoon, reach our first campsite situated in an impressive narrow gorge. There, we have dinner and overnight.
Next day, we start rafting Apurimac at around 9 am after a healthy breakfast. Today, we enjoy being in the white water for approx. 6 hours doing mostly class III and IV rapids! During that, we stop to have lunch and then we continue rafting down the river towards our second campsite. On the way, we get to a really narow canyon with a very difficult rapid that cannot be overcome so we have to carry our rafts for a while (approx. 7 minutes). At about 4 pm, we reach the campsite. Tonight, we enjoy dinner and campfire on a sandy beach under the sky of the southern hemisphere!
On the last day of this amazing white water rafting vacation, we raft through a few of V class rapids. Except this adrenaline sport, we can also observe the local wildlife such as river otters, bobcats, foxes, torrent ducks, condors and cormorants in this remote and isolated canyon After 3-4 hours in water, we have to finish and pack our river raft and other equipment. We finish our adventure trips by a return to Cusco on our private vehicle reaching it at about 5 pm. There, you are taken back to your hotel and thus your tour finishes. Or, maybe you can ask us about our other rafting tours