Rafting (full day): Why Go
Some of the best rivers for White Water rafting in South America are in the mountains surrounding Cusco, so if you want to give it a try this is the place! All our one day trips run various sections of the Urubamba River, around 1 and a half hours from Cusco. This is the same river which flows through the Sacred Valley and was worshipped by the Incas as the "Bringer of Life".
This is an activity to get the adrenaline pumping, as well as offering unique views of the Andes in remote places hard to reach by road. The levels of rapid vary depending on time of year, but the rapids on these one day trips never exceed Level 4. All guides are fully trained in white water rescue and first aid, and can read the rivers and know exactly what to expect throughout the year. You don't need any experience at all to do the river rafting (you just need to know how to swim). However, if you do have experience and want something more challenging we can offer trips for you too.
Level I: Really easy without any risk, we just let the stream take us down.
Level II: Stream with some waves and small rocks.
Level III: Stream, rocks, holes, waves (enjoyable).
Level IV: Stream, rocks, holes with more gradient or more volume of water with a little bit of risk. For this level, it's not necessary to have a safety kayak with the group.
Level V: Stronger and more enjoyable than the class IV with an element of risk, maximum commercial rafting level. For these rapids it's necessary to have a safety kayak with the group.
We offer the one- day tour for two different sections on the Urubamba River:
Cusipata
This section of the river is the gentlest on offer and well suited to nervous beginners and children. It is fairly flat, levels I & II, in the dry season May - September. In the wet season it may reach a level III.
Chuquicahuana
This section of the river is more adventurous. In the dry season it remains fairly tame with rapids of up to level III, however in the wet season rapids can get as big as level IV.
Please Note: This excursion is only possible in the dry season, between April and November. These dates are subject to change depending on the start/end of the rain season, with your safety in mind.
