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

river photo

Class: V, IV+ ; Flow: 100-500 cfs; Average Gradient: 26 m/km Upper/Dries, 14 m/km Lower; Portages: in Upper/Dries; Length: 5, 3.5, 4.5 km; Time: 3, 2, 1 hours

Season: July to January; rafts? no; Highlights: unique bedrock rapids; Crux move: drive & hike

Put-In: Los Laureles (335 m); Take-Out: Hydro dam (204 m) or highway (50 m)

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

The Río San Juan is beautiful committing mini-creeking in the western part of the Cordillera Nombre de Dios. However, since 2014, a new dam has dried up a special section of whitewater and usually constrains boating to a shorter Upper or Lower run.

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

Descent History: In 2000, Udo Witteman was the first to run most of the Río San Juan in a raft with four last-minute tourists joining in. Rocky Contos and I were the first to run the Upper canyon, in 2010.