Río Nueva Palestina, main & upper, Chiapas, Mexico (area: South Central; click here for the Chiapas table of rivers)

river photo

Class: IV (V- upper); Ave. Gradient: 9 m/km (20 km upper); Portages: yes; Length: 13 to 16 km (5 km upper); Time: 2:30 (2:30 upper)

Season: August to October; rafts? yes (not upper); Highlights: the lower: pretty and less intense; Crux move: portaging

Water Quality: so-so; Water Temperature: medium

PI: upper: Porvenir bridge (elev: 830 m), lower: Nueva Palestina (elev: 730 m); TO: lower: highway, or El Cacao

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

The Río Nueva Palestina is another scenic creek in way-off-the-beaten-path Angel Albino Corzo area. It is neighbor to the similar-volume Río Escaleras and the slightly-bigger-volume Río Jaltenango. The area is mainly of interest to explorers who are around during the height of the rainy season and who are looking for something rarely-visited. Here, they'll find it.

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

Flash Flood Danger: normal (high in upper), get an early start.

Descent History: Only known descent was 03-04.10.12 by Greg Schwendinger.

Flow Notes: There is a streamflow gauge downstream at La Reforma, and the latest chart is also shown below. The gauge appears to read a bit high: in 2012, a reading 4000 cfs gave a real flow of about 3000 cfs. The Nueva Palestina contributes about 20% of the total Reforma flow. You will need some good rains to make these runs go. My impressions are from runs with 500 cfs at Nueva Palestina. Also here I include some historical data from INEGI.

click here for the height graph

Accommodations: There are basic hotels in Ángel Albino Corzo town.

Nearby Tourist Attractions: This area is far off the gringo trail. Nature buffs will appreciate the scenic "Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo" which borders the lower Río Jaltenango though it has no tourist services.