Chile’s Crown Jewel

Trip Description:

The Futaleufú River Rafting Experience:

This trip is designed to let you get the most out of your Patagonia experience including rafting, kayaking (hard shell and inflatable), hiking, fishing, horseback riding, and relaxing. The Base Camp was developed with comfort in mind with amenities like private tent platforms with beds, hot showers, a wood-burning hot tub, sauna, massage studio, yoga platform, and the Sunset Bar.

The Futaleufú is one of earth's foremost whitewater runs. Starting in Chilean Patagonia, far beneath the spires and snow-capped crowns of the Andes, the Fu's turquoise waters pass through granite gorges, lush vistas and legendary whitewater.

This expedition has it all:

Day 1

• Arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina for your flight connection to San Carlos de Bariloche.
• Your afternoon can be spent swimming, walking around town, shopping for Argentina's famous leather goods, sampling Bariloche's delicious chocolate or going for a walk along the lake front.

Day 2

• After breakfast, we will board our private vehicles and begin the drive to Chile.
  • This is a beautiful drive through both Nahuel Huapi Park and then Alceres National Park which is full of the ancient Alceres trees the South American equivalent of the redwood.
• In the afternoon, we arrive at the base camp where your private tent platform, complete with river views and comfortable beds will be waiting for you.
• We will introduce the entire crew and go over the week's agenda.
• After happy hour, a hearty dinner will be served.

• A pre-breakfast yoga class is available on our customized yoga platform with river views!
• We will launch our rafts from base camp after a thorough safety briefing.
• Each raft is captained by a highly trained and intuitive river guide, who guides the boat from a stern-mounted oar frame.
• The first section that we raft, from camp down to Puente Futaleufú (the Futaleufú Bridge), is only 10 km, but offers more rapids per 1000 meters than anywhere else on the river.
• Every late afternoon is "Happy Hour" with an open bar stocked with beer, wine, soda, and juice
• . After dinner, enjoy the campfire and the stars before retiring to your cozy tent on your private platform.
• The sound of the river will lull you to sleep and send you off dreaming of the next day of adventure in Chile.

• After breakfast, we will launch our rafts from camp and have lunch on the river.
• After we pass the Puente Futaleufú (yesterday's take-out), we immediately round the corner to meet a big stomping continuous cascade of waves known as "Mas o Menos", translated, "More or Less". This is a good stepping stone towards our first true blue class V technical rapid, "Casa de Piedra" (House of Rock) which is right around the next corner.
• If you have the energy and desire, you can ride a mountain bike back to camp.
• We will have a vehicle waiting for the rest of us for the short scenic drive back to camp.
• Upon return, we will celebrate the day, enjoy the spa and get ready for yet another fabulous dinner.

• We venture deeper into the heart of Patagonia on horseback.
  • Our ride, approximately eight miles long, takes us into the Rio Azul (Blue River) valley, which is surrounded by snow-capped peaks.
  • We will stop and have lunch along the way and plan to reach our wilderness camp, "La Cascada" (the waterfall), by late afternoon. "La Cascada" is built at the base of a 120-foot waterfall in an enclave of old-growth, native forest.
• The camp includes hot showers, a sunset bar, and a beautiful wood hot tub.
• Dinner will be eaten in our riverside dining area or around the campfire followed by a bon fire and guitar music on the beach.

• You have several choices available to you today.
  • The first option, for keen horse riders, is to ride across the Rio Azul River and farther up the Azul valley.
  • The second option, for those who are feeling river adventurous and want "to paddle their own", is to hop into inflatable kayaks and navigate the narrow and technical Rio Azul to its confluence downstream with the Futaleufu River.
  • Both of these options provide one of the most memorable days of fun filled adventure imaginable.

• We will have an early breakfast in camp then travel 35 kilometers up the road to visit the town of Futaleufú.
• After strolling around town, we will launch our boats on the Rio Espolon.
• This crystal-clear river meanders for 2 miles before it flows into the Rio Futaleufú, one mile above the "Inferno Canyon".
• This upper canyon requires aggressive class V paddling and is the most difficult section of white water on the river.
• Many other options exist for those who choose not to participate in Inferno Canyon.

• Today, we must be mentally and physically well prepared for the river. We call it the "summit day" as we aim to top our already great paddling days with the best day of white water in the world.
• As our day on the river begins, the blue glacial run-off from the Rio Azul River merges into the Fu from the right.
• The views of the snow capped mountain peaks and jagged ridges of the mountain "Las Tres Monjas" (translated, "the three Nuns") are absolutely breathtaking.
• A six-kilometer stretch of warm-up rapids leads us to the longest and toughest rapid that we will raft, "The Terminator."
• After lunch, we return to the river to complete the last task for the day, tackling as much white water as possible. We raft the whole section of river from camp to below Casa de Piedra.
• At take-out, cold beers and tea are waiting. We make a triumphant return to camp to celebrate our days spent exploring Futaleufú valley and river.

• After loading up your personal gear, our van will take you to Esquel or Bariloche to catch your flight to Buenos Aires.
• We hope when you board the airplane you will look back upon your time in Chile and the friends you have made and think of the beauty of the Futaleufú River and Patagonian wilderness.
• Ciao amigos, Ciao Ciao Chile.

2008 Available Dates:

12/11, 12/20, 12/28

2009 Available Dates:

1/6, 1/15, 1/25, 2/3, 2/12, 2/22, 3/12, 3/22

Price:

$2900 (not including international and domestic flights) Includes Camping Gear, Lodging and beer and wine.

Rapids:

IV–V (water level dependent)

Trip Length:

9 days/ 8 nights

Ages:

12 and up

More Information:

To get more detailed information you may download the trip details PDF below: