Apurimac Rafting Expedition - This rafting trip is one of the best experiences on offer in Peru. It is 3 days of rafting on rapids between levels II to V on the River Apurimac near Cusco. The Apurimac is one of the top 10 rivers for white water in the world, and the section we run flows through a huge canyon offering spectacular scenery. Each night we camp by the side of the river on beaches, these places within the canyon can only be accessed by the river – there are no signs of people anywhere. It is a true wilderness, a rare thing in the world today.
Day 1 Apurimac Rafting Expedition - Cusco to Apurimac
We meet to leave Cusco at 8.30am. The journey to the ‘put in’ is around 4 hours, first by road then by dirt track, and we stop in the town of Izcuchaca on the way to pick up supplies. On the way we will also get some amazing views of the deep valley the river flows through, and the surrounding mountains.
On arrival we unload all the equipment from the bus and the guides set up the rafts and prepare lunch. We, the passengers, pack our things into special dry bags (all our things are transported down the river in a cargo raft) and change into our river gear. Clothing for the river is provided and consists of a wetsuit, splash vest, life jacket and helmet. After eating a great lunch, we are given a safety talk and all the different orders that might be used in the rafts are explained clearly.
We begin the rafting, running a few rapids of level II & III and chat amongst ourselves, getting to know ‘the team’ for the next few days. After an hour we stop in a wide still stretch of the river, we are the first raft there and our guide notices a river otter perched on a rock just 5 metres from our raft! We have stopped in order to practice the procedure should we flip in a rapid, at first this seems scary but being in the water is fun and the safety procedure isn’t too technical.
We arrive to our first camp at around 4.30pm and set up our tents for the night. We stay on a small beach sheltered from the river by a huge rock, it has an avocado tree growing right by the camp. The guides quickly begin preparing food, and by 7pm they serve soup followed by ‘Lomo Saltado’, a lovely Peruvian dish. Everyone is feeling pretty tired tonight, we are all in our tents by 9pm after a quick look for shooting stars! Hasta manana!
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We stop to camp for the night again at around 4.30pm, this time on a big long beach. As we unload the equipment we see Andean Condors soaring above the canyon, they are truly huge and magnificent to watch as they soar above us. Tonight we eat spaghetti bolognese and the guides build a campfire for us to sit around once we’ve eaten. It was magical, talking by the light of the fire and watching the Peruvian stars.
Day 2 Apurimac Rafting Expedition - Rafting the Apurimac
We start this second day of our river rafting tour in Peru, at 6.30am, getting up and packing away our tent before breakfast. For breakfast we get bread, porridge, fresh fruit, cereal and yoghurt – and I make an effort to eat as much as I can to give me strength for the day ahead! We get going at around 8am, running a few ‘friendly’ level III rapids before meeting our first level IV. I feel a little nervous about running it, but the guide explains exactly what to expect and how we will maneuvre the raft through and after that I feel excited. We stop for lunch around 12.30, the guides serve a buffet on a beach by the river. After this we all take an hour to relax in the sunshine before continuing. In the afternoon we run a level V rapid. Peru is such a beautiful country, I am so happy to be here!
We stop to camp for the night again at around 4.30pm, this time on a big long beach. As we unload the equipment we see Andean Condors soaring above the canyon, they are truly huge and magnificent to watch as they soar above us. Tonight we eat spaghetti bolognese and the guides build a campfire for us to sit around once we’ve eaten. It was magical, talking by the light of the fire and watching the Peruvian stars.
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Day 3 Apurimac Rafting Expedition - Apurimac Rafting to Cusco
Another early start, but today we get pancakes for breakfast so it is worth it! We play some games while the guides, pack everything onto the rafts – you have to turn on the spot 10 times while looking up at your paddle, then run around a marker right by the waters edge. A lot of people went swimming!! We get going and run some really amazing rapids, some really fast and exciting and others really technical with lots of rocks to paddle around. Mid morning the rafts stop by a cliff and we’re asked if we want to jump into the river. The top if the cliff is quite high, but we’re assured the river is safe there and I give it a go. I throw myself off the rock quickly before I get a chance to look down! The final hour of rafting is gentle, with just a few level I rapids, and everyone is happy to relax and enjoy the scenery before we return to reality. We reach the ‘take out’ at around 12 noon, there is a ranch with showers where we get changed and eat lunch before starting the 2 hour journey back to Cusco.
It has been a magical 3 days away from civilization, and the rafting was spectacular and without a single flip. I feel really lucky to have been on this unique trip – Cusco Peru is without a doubt THE place to go rafting in South America.