Pacuare River Rafting
Whitewater Rafting Costa Rica: Raft the Pacuare River to Rios Lodge
Raft the Pacuare River into the Heart of the Rainforest
Your journey begins with unforgettable Costa Rica rafting on the legendary Pacuare River, one of the world’s top destinations for Costa Rica whitewater rafting. Pacuare rafting is the perfect introduction to the wild beauty surrounding Rios Lodge.
What is the Pacuare River?
The Pacuare River is one of Costa Rica’s most scenic and remote rivers, flowing from the Talamanca Mountains toward the Caribbean lowlands. It’s internationally known for offering premier Costa Rica whitewater rafting, with Class II–IV rapids set in stunning rainforest scenery.
Where is the Pacuare River?
From your first paddle stroke, you’ll see why travelers come from around the world for rafting Pacuare. Blue-green water, waterfalls, canyon walls, and lush jungle create an unforgettable balance of thrilling rapids and peaceful stretches.
Why is Costa Rica Rafting on the Pacuare Unique?
From your first paddle stroke, you’ll see why travelers come from around the world for rafting Pacuare. Blue-green water, waterfalls, canyon walls, and lush jungle create an unforgettable balance of thrilling rapids and peaceful stretches.
What You Need To Know
What Can You Expect Rafting The Pacuare River?
Here is what you can expect when you raft the Pacuare River to Rios Lodge!
The Pacuare River rafting is a popular one-day trip on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, deep in the rainforest in Limón Province. The river and surrounding region is an incredible part of Costa Rica, and one of the best ways to experience it fully is to stay overnight along the river.
Rafting the Upper Pacuare River (To the Lodge)
During the trip to Rios Lodge, you’ll raft the upper section of the Pacuare and take out right at our eco lodge. During this section of the river, you’ll raft through lively, bubbling class II and III rapids, fun for all levels of rafters.
See the Pacuare River Map below on this page.
Rafting the Lower Pacuare River (From the Lodge)
The second half of the river below the lodge offers thrilling water on the lower section of the Pacuare into the gorge. On this section of the river, you will navigate exciting III and IV rapids.
See the Pacuare River Map below on this page.
Rafting the both the upper and lower Pacuare River is a bucket list experience for many active travelers! If you want to experience the calmer beauty of the river, you can raft in on the upper section and hike out from Rios Lodge.
Have the Best Pacuare River Rafting Adventure with These Helpful Tips!
Preparing to Raft the Pacuare
What to Wear Costa Rica Whitewater Rafting
The Pacuare River will definitely jump up to say hello, so we highly recommend wearing light clothing that you don’t mind getting wet! While the water and air temps are often warm, the dense foliage shades the river from the sun. If you get cold easily, bring a waterproof layer like a light rain jacket!
What To Bring for Rafting the Pacuare River?
The Rios Lodge team will handle transporting your bigger bags to the lodge, but we recommend you bring a small waterproof bag with a carabiner to clip to the raft with some essentials. Bring along sunscreen, an extra layer, a waterproof phone or camera and bug spray!
See our complete packing list for the Pacuare river rafting and the lodge here.
Whitewater Rafting Costa Rica FAQs
There are a handful of lodges along the river, with the Rios Lodge being the first lodge established on the river and the only one that you cannot access by road. All guests must either hike or raft into and out of the lodge. Rios Lodge is located right at the entrance to the famous lower Pacuare River gorge section and roughly halfway down the river on the one day trip.
On the first section of the river, you’ll raft through lively, bubbling class II and III rapids, fun for all levels of rafters. The second half of the river below the lodge offers thrilling water on the lower section of the Pacuare into the gorge. On this section of the river, you will navigate exciting III and IV rapids. Suitable for rafters ages 12+.
Minimum age is 6 years old during Dry Season (December-April) and 8 years old during Rainy Season (May-November) to raft this first half of the Pacuare River to the lodge.
Bring the family along for the raft trip to the lodge! This section of the river is calm enough to host mini adventurers as young as six years old yet exciting enough to keep the whole family entertained.
All rafters must be at least 12 years of age to raft the lower Pacuare through the Pacuare Gorge. If your group has younger kids or people who don’t want to raft larger rapids, have no fear! You can raft the calmer water in and then hike out.
The best time for rafting on the Pacuare River depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for.
The Rainy or “Green” Season (mid-May to mid-December): During this time, the river tends to have a higher flow, which means more exciting whitewater rapids.
The Dry Season (mid-December to mid-May) : There’s usually less rain, and the Pacuare River has a lower flow. This can make for a slightly mellower rafting experience.
Rios Lodge works with an experienced rafting company with decades of experience on the river. These guides will ensure you have the info you need to confidently take on the river and navigate you through the best parts of the Pacuare. Additionally, many Rios Lodge staff and stewards are also accomplished white water paddlers.
The rainforest is teeming with unbelievable views, from jaw-dropping forests that seem to scrape the sky to the potential to see some exciting wildlife, like Great Green Macaws, lively monkeys, or even elusive jaguars.
No matter what animal friends are out to say hello, you can drink in the energy of the rainforest.
Our trips only run at specific water levels, and we are constantly monitoring water levels. If the water spikes up over the green gauge, the trip will not run on the lower pacuare, and guests will hike out. Thanks to the spontaneity of rainforest weather, waters can rise quickly and go down quickly, so these calls can be made at the last minute.
Yes – the river is more than 16 miles and takes about 5 hours to complete, so it’s a full day of rafting. You can get a much more intimate and special rainforest immersion experience by staying at least one night at the lodge. This area has so much more than just the rafting trip in and out! We highly recommend breaking the rafting journey into at least two days. Or better yet, enjoy a few relaxing and fun-packed days at the lodge before the raft back out.
Our team will take care of your bigger bags in a large raft that is only for gear and is rowed down the river by a guide. For items you want in the raft with you on the way down, our guides will clip your water bottle or small bags to the raft so they stay secure through the rapids.
About 3-5 companies regularly run rafting trips on the Pacuare River. More than ten rafting outfitters identify the Pacuare River as one of their trip options.
Rios Lodge both runs some of our own trips and we partner with established rafting outfitters on the Pacuare River. Our Pacuare River rafting trips are packaged in with Rios Lodge stay; so we do not offer single day Pacuare rafting trips. We work with the best companies and most experienced guides for our Rios Lodge trips, in addition to having our own expert guides and rafting equipment. These companies and guides typically have decades of rafting experience and many were former head guides and trip leaders for the award-winning Rios Tropicales adventure company during its operations from 1985 into 2020. Rios Lodge is the new name for the former Rios Tropicales Lodge that Rafael Gallo co-founded. Learn about the Rios Lodge and Rios Tropicales relationship here.
There are dozens of rapids with names that you can encounter on this river! Most of these larger rapids are on the more rowdy second section of the river. The most popular and memorable rapids on the Pacuare are the following:
Pele el Ojo – Class III: This is the biggest rapid in the first section of the river!
Rodeo – Class III: Second section of the river.
Double Drop – Class III-IV: Second section of the river.
Upper Huacas – Class III-IV: Second section of the river.
Lower Huacas – Class IV: Second section of the river. This is considered the best rapid on the second section of the river!
Cimarrona – Class III: Second section of the river.
Dos Montañas – Class IV: Second section of the river.
The Lower Huacas is a Class IV rapid on the lower section of the Pacuare River in the gorge. Guests and guides alike widely consider this the best rapid! It has the best of both worlds with both big water and technical moves. It has a thrilling drop at the beginning and you have to zig zag your way through the rapids.
From Tres Equis (the put-in of the first section) to Siquirres (the takeout for the second section) it is 26.25 km or 16.3 miles.
Pacuare Rafting History
Gradient: 46 F.P.M
Put in Elevation: 950 Ft
Take Out Elevation: 195 Ft
Average Discharge: 2200 C.F.S
The first upper section of the river takes about 2-3 hours to raft. The second lower section of the river takes about 3-4 hours to complete. The range of time depends on the water levels that can change each day.
Yes! It’s a famous river for whitewater paddlers, including kayakers and canoeists. Rios Lodge can help experienced paddlers rent gear in order to paddle the river to and from the lodge for an amazing white water and rainforest eco lodge vacation. Contact us if this is you!
The Rios Lodge team will take care of transporting your larger bags to the cabin, but we recommend that you bring a small waterproof bag with a carabiner to attach it to the raft with a few essential items. Bring sunscreen, an extra layer, a waterproof phone or camera, and bug spray. See the complete list of what to bring.
History of Pacuare River Rafting
The Pacuare River is a stunning river that runs for 80.2 miles from the high mountains of cloud forests down to the Caribbean Sea. While the first known kayaking run was achieved in 1980 by a group of Polish travelers, Rios Tropicales (the company that founded our lodge under its previous name!) was one of the first companies to run commercial raft trips as transportation to our eco lodge.
Over the following decades, Rios Tropicales became dedicated protectors of and experts in the Pacuare River, participating in protests to protect the purity of the river to writing a book about rafting the Pacuare that is still a resource for the river today. Rafa Gallo, co-founder of Rios Lodge, co-authored The Rivers of Costa Rica in 1988 — a paddling classic featuring the iconic Pacuare River.
Since then, Pacuare River rafting has exploded in popularity, being coined a “Top 10 Scenic Rivers in the World” by National Geographic and widely considered the best river to ride in Costa Rica.