Steve and Will kayaking on the Bridge to Bridge section of the Futaleufu River in Patagonia
If you are an expedition kayaker , then the Colca
Carlos running a sweet drop in the heart of the Cotahuasi Canyon near Arequipa in Peru should be on your bucket list ; it ’ s amazing
On the last visit , we hired motorbikes and went for a ride further up the valley . The views are stunning , and all along the upper reaches of the Rio Cotahuasi are hot springs . It is so lovely to soak away those aches and pains from previous river expeditions or just the overnight drive !
Again this area is also not immune to modernisation , and what was originally a seven-hour trek with mules to carry your kayaks is now a one-hour bus ride to the put-in . Once you start kayaking , it ’ s not long before you leave civilisation and step back into the world of the Inca Empire . There are no beaches to camp on in the Cotahuasi Canyon ; instead , there are terraces built by the Incas where they could live away from the invading conquistadors of the Spanish army . It is certainly worth a walk around the terraces as we have seen human skulls and bones , textiles and pottery plus , if you keep an eye out , you may be lucky to see condors soaring way above you . The whitewater is fantastic and keeps flowing into each rapid , rarely flattening out . The river cuts through several box canyons , which also provides plenty of action and tests your technique .
One is called Centimetre Canyon , as the route through the gap in the rocks at the bottom of the rapid is just wide enough for the kayak !
Unlike the Colca , the Cotahuasi has a less intimidating feel with hardly any rockfall . So it is best to add an extra day on your expedition so that you can go exploring from your camp or sit , look around and enjoy the changing of the colours on the canyon walls as the light begins to fade ! It is such a great trip , and I cannot highly recommend it enough !
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