Río Achiguate, Guatemala (area: Pacific Escuintla; click here for the Guatemala table of rivers)

river photo

Class: III-; Ave. Gradient: 5 m/km; Portages: none; Length: 14 km; Time: 1:45 hours

Season: June to October; rafts? with huge water; Highlights: beginner run; Crux move: applying sunscreen

Water Quality: average; Water Temperature: not noted

PI: Finca Guachipilín (152 m); TO: Parcelamiento Cuncún (80 m)

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

The Río Achiguate is mostly wide and shallow and braided. But when the water is way up it makes for a decent practice run, the closest one to Antigua and the capital. The beginning has some small rocky drops, then it is decidedly less technical the rest of the way.

A full description is in the Mayan Whitewater Guatemala guidebook.

Descent History: Matt Hartell and I ran this in June 2010, with a low 400 cfs flow.

Flow Notes: The Cenizas gauge, right at the PI, is handy when it is working. I have not correlated the flows. The higher the flow, the better in my opinion.

Nearby Tourist Attractions: Paredon beach, Antigua town.