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

river photo

Class: III; Flow: 500-4,000 cfs; Average Gradient: 2 m/km; Portages: yes; Length: 45+ km; Time: 7-10+ hours

Season: June to October; rafts? yes; Highlights: remote canyon with camping options; Crux move: gauging your speed

Put-In: highway bridge (490 m); Take-Out: El Plomo bridge (395 m)

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

The Lower Río Guayape makes a very nice family-friendly overnight raft/kayak trip when the water is up. It has a wonderfully remote feel and a nice long section of class III in the first half. The birding was quite nice, especially at the beginning. The one cosmetic negative is the high number of artisanal gold mines that you see along the way that have scarred the banks in many places (though not particularly active during our run). The biggest mining operation we saw was on RL 30 minutes into the main canyon.

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

Descent History: My wife Alice Lee and I ran this in October 2021, with 3,500 cfs flow.