Río Sazagua, Upper & Lower, Honduras (click here for the Honduras table of rivers)

river photo

Class: IV, III+; Flow: 150-500 cfs; Average Gradient: 12 m/km Upper, 6 m/km Lower; Portages: easy ones in Upper; Length: 17.5, 8 km; Time: 4, 1 hours

Season: June to October; rafts? no; Highlights: remote creeking; Crux move: catching the water

Put-In: Llano Grande arenera (973 m) or Sazagua dam (740 m); Take-Out: Sazagua reservoir (755 m) or San Antonio (695 m)

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

The Río Sazagua is a scenic higher-altitude kayak run bravely attempting to survive its brutal dismemberment by a hydro project. Most of the Lower run is dried by the project (which diverts around 250 cfs of the flow), but it does spill with heavy rains. The first half, down to the Sazagua bridge, is III+, and the second half is more III. In the last km you first pass the powerhouse, then the hydro access road bridge, then the Río Puringla confluence, before reaching the San Antonio bridge, where you have the option on continuing down on the Upper Río Otoro run (page 144),

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

Descent History: I ran the Lower in September 2016, with 450 cfs at the PI, and the Upper in October 2017, with 150 cfs at the PI.