Río Berlin, Chiapas, Mexico (area: Pacific coast; click here for the Chiapas table of rivers)

river photo

Class: IV+; Ave. Gradient: 16 m/km; Portages: maybe one; Length: up to 24 km; Time: 4:00

Season: June to October; rafts? yes, lower; Highlights: mini-gorges in upper part; Crux move: avoiding the shrimping cables

Water Quality: good; Water Temperature: not noted

PI: Altamiro (elev: 455m); TO: highway bridge

Description: (click here for general notes about my descriptions)

The Río Berlin is a beautiful granite-boulder creek run. The rapids are a bit more technical and varied than its partner the Río Novillero. You will need some luck with the rain, especially above the confluence.

A full description is in the Mayan Whitewater: Chiapas & Belize guidebook.

Flow Notes: The Novillero has a sometimes-working gauge, shown below. The gauge reads high; in 2012, a 1200 cfs reading gave only 500 cfs real flow at the TO. You need recent rains for this run to go. My impressions are from a run with 300/1800 cfs at the PI/TO. (On that day the height gauge showed "54.5".)

Accommodations: There are basic hotels in Mapastepec.

Nearby Tourist Attractions: not much in this area.