Río Jiguina, Nicaragua (click here for the Nicaragua table of rivers)

river photo

Class: IV- ; Flow: 250-500 cfs; Average Gradient: 9 m/km; Portages: yes; Length: 11.5 km; Time: 2 hours

Season: June to October ; rafts? no; Highlights: pretty scenery; Crux move: watching for wood

Put-In: La Parranda (1080 m); Take-Out: lake road (977 m)

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

The Río Jiguina is a pretty creek worth the short trip from Matagalpa or Estelí. There are still bits of cloud forest above the area's numerous coffee plantations, as well as many ferns and caña grass along the riverbank. The river is mostly class III but includes a short class IV- section as well as some other obstacles.

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

Descent History: The Matagalpa Tours guys first explored this in 2014, in a raft!