Río Grande, Upper & Middle, Nicaragua (click here for the Nicaragua table of rivers)

river photo

Class: V, IV ; Flow: 150-1,000 cfs; Average Gradient: 13 m/km Upper, 8 m/km Middle; Portages: big ones in Upper, few in Middle; Length: 12, 16 km; Time: 6, 4 hours

Season: June to October ; rafts? no; Highlights: scenic portages, and the rapids in between; Crux move: catching a good flow

Put-In: El Campamento (390 m) or Río Grande (230 m); Take-Out: Los Encuentros (103 m)

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

The Río Grande's upper parts are part treacherous, part just plain nasty. But nasty can be beautiful. The Upper run offers a look at one of Nicaragua's most impressive waterfalls, plus a number of other class V features. The Middle offers a respectable amount of class III & IV though rarely has enough water to enjoy it fully.

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

Descent History: I ran these in October 2019, with 200-700 cfs on the Upper and 400-500 cfs on the Middle.