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| Section |
Juntas
de Pacuar to Brujo |
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Location |
Near
San Isidro, southwest Cost Rica |
|
Driving Time |
San
Jose—5 hours |
|
Difficulty |
Class
III-IV |
|
Trip Length |
43 miles (69 km) |
|
Trip Options |
Paddle
raft, oar raft; multiday |
|
Season |
June-December |
Rio General—sometimes
called the Rio Chirripo, after the country’s highest mountain
(which it drains) and one of the river’s many tributaries—is
Costa Rica’s longest tropical adventure. Its seemingly countless
miles of whitewaters, long a popular playground with foreign
kayakers, will challenge the most ardent rafting enthusiast.
Few river match the Rio General for
whitewater intensity. Dozens of exciting Class III-IV rapids with
aptly descriptive names (Elephant Rock, Michael’s 3 Miles,
Screaming Right Turn, The Ramp, Forever Eddy, The Brew, Go Left and
Die, and The Whirlpool) can be immensely enjoyed by all paddlers.
Rio General, created by the joining of the
Rio Chirripo and Rio Buenvista near the small town of Rivas in
southwest Costa Rica, can be run in either three or four days. While
the General does not offer the same pristine tropical jungle
environs as the Rio Pacuare or some sections of the Rio Reventazon,
its more pastoral surrounding are nevertheless beautiful. Rafters
may not even notice the riverbanks because of their intense
involvement with the whitewater.
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