Río Chocoljá, upper, Chiapas, Mexico (area: East; click here for the Chiapas table of rivers)

river photo

Class: V-; Ave. Gradient: 9 m/km; Portages: 2 (serious); Length: 14 km; Time: 5:30 hours

Season: mid-June to February; rafts? no; Highlights: big falls; Crux Move: the portages

Water Quality: good; Water Temperature: cool

PI: Chocoljaito bridge (elev.: 250m); TO: Chocoljá bridge

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

The upper Chocoljá is a journey through one of Chiapas' most beautiful river canyons. It also poses one of Chiapas' most formidable portaging challenges around a 100 foot waterfall.

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

Flow Notes: There is no useful online gauge, you'll have to check the flow at the bridge. My impressions are with about 200 cfs at the PI and 900 cfs at the TO.

Accommodations: Palenque is the natural staging point and has a wide variety of hotels. There are other hotels closer to the run on the border highway. I can recommend the economical Camino Verde hotel at km 54 (Ricardo Flores Magón village).

Nearby Tourist Attractions: the ruins at Piedras Negras, Bonampak, and Yaxchilán, down the Fronterizo del Sur highway.