Rafting Expedition, BOLIVIA

RÍO SAN PEDRO-GRANDE: Grand Canyon of Bolivia / AMAZON

635 km (394 miles), class IV, 9+11 days (20 days for full expedition) Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking Expedition.
Dates TBA soon. Email us for details.

Expertly Guided Expedition, Transfers to River from Flight, Food, Raft/Kayak and Paddles-- all included; if you'd like to add rental of personal gear (vest, helmet, tent, sleeping bag) on this trip-- let us know, as this can be done inexpensively.

TRIP COST: $1660 San Pedro only (10 days)
TRIP COST: $1660 Grande only (10 days)
TRIP COST: $3060 San Pedro- Grande (20 days)

A deposit of $500 holds your place:

This is a twenty-day Grand Canyon style trip

This is a twenty-day Grand Canyon style trip

Río SanPedro-Grande is the most distant source of Río Madeira, the largest tributary of the Amazon. On this expedition, we'll start at an altitude of 2840 m (9300 ft) and navigate downstream on muddy water through a Grand Canyon cut out of the Andes with puno, desert, and jungle ecosystems. We'll camp on fine beaches, explore slot side canyons, find Incan ruins, visit local residents, admire the changing flora and fauna, and visit Che Guevarra's last outpost. Compared to the nearby Pilcomayo, the Grande has over twice the volume, with similarly spectacular gorges, and true Amazon jungle in its lower reaches.

View of us descending Río Chayanta on the second day of the trip.

View of us descending Río Chayanta on the second day of the trip.

Trips launching between December 2017 - April 2018, make a deposit to hold your place, and we'll let you know when the water is running! Trip is all-inclusive including outfitting with all equipment needed, food and lodging.

Check out the photos below of our Jan-Feb 2017 trip on Río SanPedro-Grande. This is a Grand Canyon-type trip (most days class III max but some class IV) that begins at one of the highest altitudes (2840m) possible to raft all the way down to the flat Amazon jungle (400m near Santa Cruz). Although we had incredibly low water levels for this time of year our first 9 days, we were still able to raft down it all with the big rafts and make the timeline of the full 599km in 20 days. At least one trip will be planned each year sometime Dec-Apr. Make a deposit to hold your place, and contact us with any questions.

We did the first descent of the entire Río SanPedro-Grande in 2015 (kayak only) and 2016 (rafts), but the descent that just took place Jan-Feb 2017 covered the whole 599km (371 mile) over 20 days with rafts on this class III-IV expedition.  Compared to the expedition the previous year, this one continued all the way through the lower JungleGrande section to Abapó (near Santa Cruz).  See photos of the expedition and in particular the first raft descent of the Jungle Grande section (Slideshow3 below).  Although only one massive dam is currently planned for the lower JungleGrande section of river (the Rositas dam), we encountered dam survey crews farther upstream in the DesertGrande section sampling the rocks in Barranca Khatari for another massive dam.  It is likely they came to the conclusion that the extremely high silt load of this river will lead to a very short lifefime of a reservoir behind any dam, and to make any project worthwhile, a series of projects are necessary to extend the lifespan of them all.  A petition is now live (please sign!) and a conservation video will be put together soon to start a movement to save this amazing Grand Canyon type river. Two expeditions are planned for next season (Jan-Mar), so if interested, please send a note to receive more specific info on scheduling.

 

Bolivia, Amazon River, Kayaking Trips, Rafting TripsBrian WilsonRafting, Kayaking, Expedition