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

river photo

Class: IV; Flow: 150-1500 cfs; Average Gradient: 21 m/km; Portages: yes; Length: 10-15 km; Time: 4-5 hours

Season: June to October; rafts? no; Highlights: pretty gorges and a remote feel; Crux move: technical creeking

Put-In: Azacualpita (345 m); Take-Out: Puente Verdugo (187 m) or Puente Reitoca (135 m)

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

The Río Verdugo is a marvelous creek carved out of unique multi-colored bedrock, with some tumbled-down boulders helping to form tight technical rapids, especially in the first 3.5 hours of the run. Expect the first scout about 15 minutes into it, then it is back-to-back rapids and mini-gorges with straightforward scouting and portaging. Hammock bridges mark the progress down to the Puente Verdugo (4 hours): the first a little more than 1 hour down, and the second (100 m above the San Carlos low-water crossing) 45 minutes later about halfway. The river becomes more open and easier about 30 minutes above the Puente Verdugo. The final hour down to the Puente Reitoca is optional but worth it. Most of the action is in the first 15 minutes as the rapids build to a big class V in a final short gorge, unrun as yet.

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

Descent History: I ran this solo, hiking down from the San Carlos side, in June 2005. Sawyer Ballew and I ran from Azacualpita in October 2018.