1 Day River Pacuare Rafting Trip
River: Pacuare
Class: III - IV
Minimum Age: 12 to 14 years old
The Pacuare River is one of the top five rafting rivers in the world for its scenery and rapids. Located on Costa Rica's Atlantic Slope, the Pacuare River borders the Talamanca mountain range, home to native Cabecar Indians and an incredible variety of wildlife.
After an early morning pickup from your San Jose hotel you will drive by private, comfortable bus to our Operations Center for a delicious, typical Costa Rican breakfast. Once at the river at our private put-in, you'll raft 16 miles deep in the heart of densely vegetated gorges, past gushing waterfalls, serene pools and pounding rapids, in one of Costa Rica's most impressive primary rainforests. After an adrenaline-packed afternoon running rapids like Upper and Lower Huacas, Cimarron, Dos Montanas and many more, after we finish, a short drive to Rios Tropicales Operations Center for a hearty and delicious lunch, showers, optional drinks and souvenir store.
2 and 3 Day Pacuare River Rafting Trip
River: Pacuare
Class: III – IV
Minimum Age: 12 to 14 years old
Day 1
Our driver and guide will make a house call to your hotel and escort you in a comfortable, private shuttle to the operations center in Siquirres, a scenic hour and a half east of San José through Braulio Carrillo National Park. After a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, you'll take another drive along a ridge between two of Costa Rica's famous wild rivers, the Reventazón and your destination, the rapids of the Pacuare.
At the put-in, bilingual, professional guides will walk you through river safety instructions and paddling commands and load your overnight gear into dry bags while you clip into life jackets and helmets and prepare for the ride.
You'll ease into the river on class III rapids the first day, finding your stride with your guide's leadership and your fellow paddlers while penetrating the primary rainforest of the Pacuare gorge. Detouring from the river, the guides will lead a light foot trek into the wilderness along a creek to a sandy bottomed pool for a swim. Later, lunch is served on the riverbank. River food is deli sandwiches, fresh fruit and cookies.
The rafts land at the award-winning Ríos Tropicales Lodge in the early afternoon. While the guides show off their handiness around a kitchen preparing gourmet meals and a pre-dinner cocktail, you can hike the trails, swim in natural pools or relax in the rustic comfort of the private bungalows.
Day 2
Breakfast is served at a leisurely 8:30 am, but you won't need your watch. You'll wake to the toucans and brewing coffee. After breakfast, you can explore the trails in to the jungle around the camp, swim in rocky pools and strap your helmet back on for a different kind of rush - sailing through the tree canopy clipped onto six steel cables slung between old growth trees. The canopy tour is part of the rafting trip package, provided at no extra charge for a higher perspective on the forests you are rafting through. Two hikes bring the forest into closer focus, a 4-5 hour trek into the Pacuare Reserve, or a 2-3 hour hike to waterfalls and pools. This forest is home to monkeys, sloths, hundreds of species of tropical birds and other wildlife. Between hikes or as the laid back option, you can read or chat in hammocks in the gazebo overlooking the river.
(Omit Day Two for the two day trip - you won't spend the extra day at the lodge, but you will take the canopy tour and short forest hikes before the second day of rafting.)
Day 3
The river flexes its muscle on today's stretch. After breakfast, you'll load the rafts and enter the current. The rafts barrel through class III and IV rapid, plummet down short drops and ricochet among the boulders on some of the technical tracts.
Once back at the center, you'll shower and we'll cook up a late lunch, then head back to San Jose.
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