Pucon has built a reputation as a Kayaking Mecca. Situated on the side of Lake Villarrica, with the snowcapped Villarrica Volcano towering over the town the quality and variety of the surrounding rivers is unrivalled! One day you can be creeking on a remote river set in jungle style terrain, the next day you could be dropping off a 7m waterfall and the following day kayaking drops with some of the most spectacular background scenery on the planet.
Based from our newly built private lodge with stunning views and with an 8 day trip or an optional extension to make a 12 day adventure in the Kayaking Mecca that is Pucon!
This is our ultimate Pucon Kayak Mecca Class 4.
Tour Overview
We pick you up at Temuco airport and bring you back to our newly built lodge up on the outskirts of Pucon. Once we have settled in, we fit out our kayaks and go through equipment in the afternoon before chilling and relaxing to get over the journey to Pucon. As we have continuously mentioned, the variety of rivers in and around Pucon is World Class. The Lower Trancura is a great river to warm up on, with some big hits and moves to make throughout, this section certainly gets rid of the cobwebs! We spend a morning working on our boof technique at a sweet feature/drop on the Lower Palguin and after lunch we continue down the Lower Palguin to run drops like auto-boof! The Upper Palguin is probably the most well known section of river in Pucon. It is waterfall heaven and you get the opportunity to run it 2 or even 3 times! The Rio Maichin is a sweet technical little river set in a beautiful and lush forest where you get the feeling of being somewhere in the Amazon. The Upper Trancura has nice pool drop rapids with some dramatic backdrops of the Villarrica Volcano. It is a great place to spend time running a couple of the drops more than once to get that sweet shot so that you have just more than a memory of your time kayaking in Pucon.
Within a days drive of Pucon you can find some fantastic whitewater. The Truful Truful gives us the option of kayaking the un-relentless rapids on the upper section, something that most kayakers have never experienced. The mellower Lower Truful Truful starts with a punch as you put-in right below a waterfall. There are continuous rapids for the first few kilometres before chilling out with great views of the valley and the snowcapped Llaima Volcano. The Lower Fuy provides some HUGE waves and rapids in the Spring and if the energy levels are good we can do another lap! The Rio San Pedro is often regarded as a mini Futaleufu. It has probably the clearest water we have ever encountered. You can just roll over and see the volcanic rock, river bed and fish as you float on bye. The action soon picks up and we kayak some big waves and rapids with the feeling that we are in the middle of nowhere. It can also make a great mellow, 2 day self-support multi-day trip. The Rio San Pedro is a firm favourite of the whole team!
Practicalities
Why us?
David, Steve and Mati form a fantastic partnership, that not only gives you the opportunity to kayak amazing rivers in Chile, but you will also get a distinct flavour of the region, its people and customs. David and Mati’s knowledge of Chile’s rivers is second to none! Both David and Mati work for the prestigious University of Pucon, teaching the whitewater part of their outdoor education degree. With our experience in leading and running kayaking adventures you will not find a better team to give you an introduction to the Kayaking Mecca that is Pucon! Want to know more about Steve, David and Mati then please check out Our Team page.
Experience Required
You should have plenty of experience of kayaking Class 3 and Class 4 whitewater such as the Sanna, Landeck Gorge and the Lower Oetz in Austria at good levels. Your roll should be solid but you do not need any experience kayaking waterfalls as we gradually build you up in Pucon. Chile’s river classifications tend to be solid so if the majority of rivers you are kayaking are Class 3(4) then we suggest you check out our No Stress Class 3 Kayaking Trip to Pucon. We will be kayaking for around 4-5 hours a day so though you do not need to be an Olympic athlete, you should have a certain amount of paddle fitness and stamina.
Chile Kayaking Season
Of course we are in the Southern Hemisphere so everything is the opposite. Spring in Chile is October/November, Summer is December/January/February and Autumn is March/April. Expect higher water levels and maybe ½ a grade harder in October and November. December and January are medium water levels and then by mid-February/March the levels have dropped and so the strength of the river and holes etc.
Group Composition
Our ratios are extremely low be it in the Kayak School, India, Peru or Chile! The ratio of the group is no more than 1 guide to 3 clients! We will also not take more than 6 clients on this trip! This gives you plenty of whitewater action with the opportunity to become a much more all rounded confident kayaker! This is why we like to keep our group sizes small!
Accomodation
From 2020 we will be based from our brand new Lodge on the flanks of a mountain in Pucon. In 2018 we bought just under 10,000m2 (1 hectare) of a mixture of woodland and meadow. We have an unbelievable north-side view out over the valleys to Llaima Volcano in the distance. On the south-side we can see the snowcapped Villarrica Volcano from our living room windows. The Lodge has central heating, bedrooms that go out to a terrace, en-suite bathrooms and upstairs is the open plan kitchen, dinner, living room with a breathtaking views and a balcony to chill out on. Of course there is a drying room to make sure our kit is ready for the following days kayaking!
Food & Drink
Food can be a real highlight in Chile. Markets are full of vegetables and fruits of the season. There are some great restaurants in Pucon serving Spanish and German influenced cuisine. Back at the lodge we cook authentic Indian curry with different flavours and nothing too spicy! Also let’s not forget the Chilean asado - a grill laden with various meat, sausages and we have even some great vegetarian alternatives as well! Our water is from a mountain spring and David will have a cold beer waiting for you at the take-out. Our coffee is roasted in Pucon and tastes amazing and of course Chile produces some quality red wine.
Extensions
If you would like to extend to make a 12 day (or even longer) trip then just let us know. It is a long journey to Pucon and we understand that some kayakers would rather spend more time running those sweet drops, waterfalls and really making the most of what Pucon and its surrounding areas/destinations have to offer.
Dates & Prices
Tour Dates & Prices
We have tours planned on the following dates:
07-20 January 2024 (2 Weeks)
22 December 2024 - 02 January 2025 (12 Days)
No dates to suit your plans? Just let us know through the contact form, we are pretty flexible here at the Kayak School giving you a more of a chance to make that dream trip to Chile.
For an itinerary, price and more information about this Adventure Trip, please send us a message through the contact form and we'll get back to you soon.