Río Coco, Above Ocotal & From Ocotal, Nicaragua (click here for the Nicaragua table of rivers)

river photo

Class: III, II ; Flow: 500-2,500 cfs; Average Gradient: 2 m/km; Portages: wood?; Length: 41 + 35 km; Time: 1-4 days

Season: June to October ; rafts? yes; Highlights: camping; Crux move: catching the water

Put-In: Somoto Canyon (645 m) or Ocotal (541 m); Take-Out: Telpaneca (478 m)

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

Between the Somoto Canyon and Telpaneca, the Río Coco is mostly slow and meandering. The nice beaches (with almost no bugs on our trip) makes it attractive for multi-day/ camping trips if you can catch the water. In the long stretch above Ocotal, there are some class III rapids through the hills but Rocky Contos, who IKed it, warns that there were "some nasty logs and stuff that would be a real pain to get a raft through."

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

Descent History: Rocky Contos and Barbara Conboy IKed down to Ocotal in July 2010. It was rafted from Ocotal to Panalí in October 2019 by the group described on page 262.