Río Guacirope, Honduras (click here for the Honduras table of rivers)

river photo

Class: III-; Flow: 200-500 cfs; Average Gradient: 7 m/km; Portages: no; Length: 10 km; Time: 1.5 hours

Season: June to October; rafts? high water; Highlights: practice rapids; Crux move: catching the water

Put-In: Hato Guanacaste (235 m) or La Libertad (187 m); Take-Out: San Francisco de Coray (114 m) or highway (28 m)

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

The Río Guacirope is a small river that ends at Nacaome. The gradient gradually eases as you descend (and the roads get rougher as you ascend). The first section (5 km/30 minutes) starting at Hato Guanacaste is the most continuous, but with some quite shallow shoals at low water and plenty of overhanging branches and vines. The next section from La Libertad (10 km/70 minutes) it is more open pool-drop, providing a good practice venue for those working their way into class III.

A full description is in the Mayan Whitewater El Salvador, Honduras, & Nicaragua guidebook.

Descent History: I ran the second section in June 2017, with 350 cfs, and the whole thing in October, 2019, with 200-600 cfs.