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

river photo

Class: IV; Flow: 75-350 cfs; Average Gradient: 12 m/km; Portages: none; Length: 5/12 km; Time: + 12km 4 hours

Season: June to early November; rafts? no; Highlights: friendly creeking in a remote canyon; Crux move: catching the water

Put-In: Oromilaca road (783 m); Take-Out: Siliantuque Higuito bridge (580 m)

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

The Río Maicupa offers a mostly class III run, plus a little extra, in the remote and scenic Río Higuito canyon lands. The round boulders are friendly, but expect to abuse your boat, especially in the first 45 minutes down to the confluence with the Río Galjagua where you find mostly bouldery III+ rapids with a bit of IV-. In the following 45 minutes, the river eases to III- (note that you will pass the fallen Calabazas bridge, which makes an alternate PI, 25 minutes below the confluence).

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

Descent History: I ran this in July 2017. Remarkably, locals told my driver that gringos with boats had been seen there in the past. I only had 75 cfs at the PI, and 900 cfs on the Río Higuito.