Kayaking in Chile

This two week kayaking trip is a chance to disconnect from our fast paced lives in a place locked away in simpler times, experience the spectacular scenery of Patagonia and paddle the world famous white water.

We will spend most of our time paddling on big water Futaleufu challenging ourselves on different sections of it. Life gets “tranquil” meaning calmer, pura vida is becoming our motto when we learn to enjoy the day and be present to gather around campfire and enjoy the evening asado which is Chilean special barbecue.

Whitewater Kayaking Holidays

The following itinerary may change to suit the needs of the group. We may stick to the plan, we may throw in an Azul lap depending if the water levels will allow or just do few laps a day hitting sections earlier than we initially planned. It all depends on daily water levels and how we will feel about our kayaking!

We may run one or two sections a day; Our usual plan building up will be:

• Macal
• Azul -> Asleep at the Wheel
• Wild Mile -> Asleep at the Wheel
• Bridge to Brigde
• Bridge + Mas o menos/Casa
• Terminator -> Casa del Rio
• Terminator -> MacalAny trip will consist of the mix of these, below is examplary build up that we may go step by step or accelerate quicker depending on the water levels and group skills!

Welcome to Chile! Arrive in Esquel, wait for group to assemble and drive 2-3 hours  to our camp in Futaleufu area. Accomodate to our base and enjoy local dinner while gathering strength to start paddling tomorrow.

Accomodation: Our base for whole stay is going to be at Casa Del Rio

First day we will dial in the skills that we will be using through all the trip by practicing at Macal section for warm up! It is a class III big water style section perfect for getting first strokes in!

Put in at the end of the mini-canyon of the Azul River and head down through Asleep at the Wheel taking out just before Terminator closeby to our camp, we will be back for it later!

We are back for more as we will go up to Magic Mile just below famous throne room. We can start off with hike to have a look at that magnificent rapid and then paddle down from it Terminator section again!

Rest day is for recharging the batteries! You can rest or join for the extra activity of horseback riding. In the afternoon we will go to Futaleufu town to resupply on all we need and finish with dinner in restaurant of choice (excluded from the price)

Stepping up the game, running the famous Bridge to Bridge and working on skills there!

Back on Futa paddling hoping straight into III/IV big water fun! Working on getting more comfortable on bridge to bridge and exploring further down the river

Starting from our camp we begin mission to Terminator means a rapid assesment, scouting, finding the lines and making big decisions how we feel about it! If that feels like too much on the day, don’t worry, we have a few alternative plans up our sleeves!

Depending on the water level we will start at the camp or further upstream and challenge ourselves going all the way through terminator, bridge to bridge, mas o menos, casa de piedra and macal! True river day ahead of us!

Another chance to catch a breath for this day we have an option for a beautiful hike for symbolic price for trail maintenance behind our neighbours house. In the afternoon we will go to Futaleufu town to resupply on all we need and finish with dinner in restaurant of choice (excluded from the price)

By this time you seen most! We will pick the favorite sections and keep doing laps on them to enjoy most of what Futa has to offer! One day we may go up for a journey to see Zeta or even Inferno Canyon, who knows what water levels will hold for us!

Morning Shuttle to Esquel for your return flights

Due to the nature of adventure kayaking, the following itinerary has to remain flexible. The LiLi team have coached many hundreds of people with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds on big volume across the world. This local knowledge will be used to adjust the itinerary to suit the individuals and to maximise progression over the course of the trip.

Intermediate / advanced paddlers. If you have a reasonable level of fitness, a solid whitewater roll and you are happy to run grade big water class III+ and higher there will be plenty of fun to be had in Chile.

A minimum group size of 3 is need to be reached for this trip to go ahead.

If you are considering Pucon + Futaleufu trip together a way to consider it is:

Fly in: home -> Santiago -> Temuco to begin, that’s easy, get your flight to Santiago and then get a seperate one to Temuco. Could be done as package too depending on rest of logistics.
Fly out: you have two options,
1. Easiest return from there is getting a flight from Esquel. A bit more trouble but I think worth it is getting a single flight from Esquel to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro and then flying home and then getting a big flight from there (that saves you around 1000$ but is not a package booking)
2. Because a flight Santiago – Santiago may be cheaper as a package then we can drive you in to Chaiten (needs to be arranged in advance so we get timings right) for small airport where you can grab a flight from Chaiten to Puerto Montt and then fly from Puerto Montt to Santiago.

Kayak rental is $390 for a duration of the course for kayak based on availability. We can also rent you a paddle at $150 per trip. When renting please be sure to bring 2 air bags and additional hip pads/foam bits that you would have in your boat. We usually source private boats and these won’t have these pieces.

It does take a while to cross the border due to queues and it is expected to get a full luggage check entering chile due to strict rules for brining in fresh food. However it all goes smooth usually.

Make sure to have all the documents you need – You obviously need your passport but in general, it is smooth. Most embassy won’t require a special visa to enter Chile but check with your government regarding travel to Argentina & Chile before just to be sure!