The best time of year to kayak in Pucon, Chile
Kayaking a waterfall on the Upper Palguin in Pucon.
Pucon has gained a reputation as one of THE best kayaking towns not just in the Southern Hemisphere but on the planet! However, with conflicting reports and tales of either rivers being too big or with no water, here at the Kayak School Arlberg we have put together this blog to give you some idea of when to come to Pucon, Chile to kayak and to make sure that long flight was worthwhile!!
Spring Kayaking on the Lower Trancura in Pucon
We have tried to divide up the seasons to give you some idea of climate, levels and popularity and also include topics and headers for those that wanting to kayak down those classic creeks in Pucon or are looking for more river running with pristine rivers and amazing colours. We have written this with kayakers that are Class 3, Class 4 and Class 5. If you are a Class 2 kayaker or even a beginner just get in touch with us to see what time of year is best to visit Pucon to enjoy those pristine rivers and white water!
However, we have first put a little bit about ourselves so that you can see the experience we have be it for leading trips, coaching and for the knowledge of the rivers of Pucon and Chile.
Josefa kayaking La Cobra waterfall on the Rio Fuy in Chile.
Our Guides - Instructors - Coaches
Matthias de Ferrari
Mati first worked for us in 2019 providing safety and guiding on the Upper Palguin in Pucon, Chile. Our guests were so impressed with him that we have been wanting Mati to be a permanent member of our Team for a while now.
To say Mati’s life has been colourful is quite an understatement! From growing up in Chile,Argentina and the USA his Spanish and American English is fantastic. His love of the river, its environment and future means a lot to him. For over 6 years Mati was teaching at the UFRO University in Pucon on their whitewater outdoor education degree and is well known and respected throughout the Chilean kayaking community. He has travelled extensively throughout Chile and parts of South America kayaking and guiding, he also guides in Italy throughout the Summer.
His laid back charm and positive attitude will help you overcome your nerves at a top of a waterfall and will inspire you to drop in! Finally there is nothing better than a BIG high 5 from Mati after styling a drop of rapid, his smile is genuine and you will quickly gain a lot of confidence in his line and the way he leads.
He is our Head Guide for all of our Chile trips and you will not find the better coach or guide to show and lead you down some of the best whitewater that Chile has to offer!
Mati is pretty Gangsta but a real lovable one!!
Josefa Sepulveda
We first met Josefa at the Rio Fuy in southern Chile in 2022 where she was working guiding rafts and safety kayaking. She was in the same team as Diego who visited us in 2022 for 6 weeks and Christian her boss highly recommended her.
Josefa first started kayaking in the mecca that is Pucon, Chile and she studied outdoor education at the prestigious UFRO University in Pucon where she specialised in whitewater. She passed her degree with flying colours and was awarded best student, which is a huge achievement in such a male dominated course and environment!
Her smile and love for life is endless, she loves being on the river and more importantly she really likes to see kayakers improve their technique and awareness in a whitewater environment. Of course being from Chile she has a certain amount of Latina style and brings this into her coaching and guiding, what else would you expect from someone who learnt to kayak in Chile!
She has represented Chile in kayak slalom in Brasil during the South American games but with a lack of funding from her country or the International Canoe Federation she was forced to leave behind her competition dreams and instead focus on bringing joy to the people she paddles on the river with. Her technique is smooth and dynamic as you would expect from a slalom kayaker.
In 2021 and 2023 she was the top female kayaker at the Pucon River Festival with podium places in Time Trial, Down River, Extreme Slalom and Boater Cross! Also in 2023 Josefa gained her British Canoeing Advanced Whitewater Leader Award.
An extremely talented person, a strong female kayaker and her drawings are unbelievably good!
Josefa is a core member of our coaching and guiding team here in Austria and Chile!
Steve Brooks
Steve lives, sleeps and eats kayaking!
When you get to kayak with Steve, you would never believe, that it wasn’t already his childhood dream to learn to kayak. Instead he was more or less forced to become a kayak instructor while serving in the British Army. What may have felt as a punishment for some, for Steve it opened a whole new world and within a few years he had said goodbye to his military career and headed off looking for adventure in the worlds best rivers!!
He has explored some of the most remote rivers in the world. From the deepest gorges in the Peruvian Andes, into the dense amazon jungle rivers of Ecuador, the big volume rivers of the Zambezi and Nile in Africa to the stunning rivers of the Himalayas in Nepal and India, Steve has been privileged to witness and share some amazing locations. His love for adventure combined with his drive and passion has made his expeditions hugely successful.
Since 2009 he has been returning to Pucon to kayak and of course other rivers around Chile. He has led numerous trips to Chile from Road Trips from Santiago to Pucon and then further south into Patagonia and the Rio Futaleufu.
Steve has been instructing and coaching for over 2 decades and throughout this time he has continually strived to develop and update his coaching style and qualifications through British Canoeing. Steve has a great understanding of the needs of different levels and characters of kayakers and has an immense amount of patience!
Being able to instruct and teach at such a high level will only help you develop as a whitewater kayaking and can open a new chapter in your kayaking career!
Steve can teach in English, German and Spanish.
Kayaking Seasons in Pucon
With each season in Pucon the weather and water levels dictate just what river will be pushy, high, low, medium volume, big volume, what creeks will be working and what waterfalls in Pucon can be kayaked.
We have also tried to explain the weather conditions, river levels and which of the classic rivers would be running.
Spring Kayaking Season in Pucon - October, November to beginning of December
The Spring in Pucon is a local kayakers dream! In October and November the rivers are BIG and everything is running in Pucon. The snow is melting and the rains that fall top up the rivers quite a bit.
However, what this means is that everything is at the grade given or at least ½ a grade harder!!
Pucon, Chile has a reputation of under grading its rivers or drops so be very aware about coming to Pucon to kayak at this time of the year!
If I was to explain it in kayakers terms, you should be comfortable running sections on the River Oetz in Austria such as the Wellerbruecke, Middle Oetz or Upper Oetz at SOLID levels. If you have never kayaked in Austria then the equivalent would be something like the North Fork of the Payette in Idaho!!
As we get to the end of November and the beginning of December, the rivers drop a little and start to become more manageable and friendlier compared to a couple of weeks ago!! Again everything will be running and at a solid grade but by the end of November the rivers are not as intimidating and you will not need to go to the toilet as much before you put-in!!
Rivers and sections such as:
Upper Palguin, Lower Palguin, Upper Trancura, Lower Trancura, Rio Maichin, Rio Nevados, Puesco, Upper and Lower Licura will all be running with possibilities of a todo Palguin (a whole run of the Palguin) possible. Rivers close to Pucon such as: Lower Fuy, San Pedro and Truful Truful will all be at high levels.
It is extremely difficult to predict weather nowadays and of course trying to plan in advance is not that easy but here is a generalisation of the weather throughout the Spring…
October is cold and it can be snowing on the volcano but raining hard in the valley, this means the rivers that are already high will be getting even more of a top up from the rain. It can rain for weeks on end, just like it could be a dry spring. We have found it tends to be the former!!
By November it is warming up a bit, yes the rains will still fall and in the 2023 it rained pretty much for a month! Snow was falling up on the volcano and again the rivers were being topped by so much rainfall.
At the beginning of December you see quite a shift in the weather, the days are getting longer and the sun is out more. Of course there can be rain but nothing compared to the previous few months.
Summer Kayaking Season in Pucon - mid December through to February
Summer days in Pucon just cannot be beaten. What better way is there to disappear from the dark cold nights of the northern hemisphere!
In mid-December the majority of rivers and sections are still running in and around Pucon, maybe Rio Nevados has not enough water in it but everything else is still good to go! Depending on the snowfall and Spring season the rivers are generally around medium which makes for a much more pleasant time if you are coming to Pucon for the first time to kayak. You still have to remember that the grades given to the rivers and sections around Pucon tend to be lower than what you would find in Europe or North America. So be careful about making your wish list as some maybe a bit out of your reach.
Christmas and the New Year is also fun to be in Pucon, a Chilean Christmas has a very different feel and vibe to it than let’s say, Austria!! The rivers are good to go and what better way to celebrate Christmas or the New Year than dropping a waterfall, kayaking a river with pristine water or partying until the early hours to bring in the New Year!
In January the rivers are dropping and will be between low and medium depending on which section of river you will be kayaking. It is full Summer in Pucon with long days, hot weather and kayaking is the perfect way to cool down. We would recommend most Class 3-4 kayakers to come around December through to January as you will not feel too intimidated by the rapids and you can get way more out of your trip, rather than being stressed and worrying about the levels and how difficult the sections or rivers will be!
Which rivers will be running will depend on how much snow fell in the Winter and how cold and wet the Spring was! In January 2024 we had great levels with the majority of rivers running as the previous Spring was cold and wet. The sections and rivers that generally run are: Upper Palguin, Lower Trancura, Upper Trancura, Lower Liucura and if you are lucky you can get the Rio Maichin and Lower Palguin also! The surrounding rivers of Pucon such as the San Pedro and Truful Truful will also be working plus the sections of the Rio Fuy will also be working. The Upper is a beautiful waterfall river, the middle has a big waterfall that can be kayaked and of course the Lower Fuy is always fun!
We have not mentioned February and there is a reason! Do not come to Pucon in February as it is full with tourists, though the centre of town can handle it, the roads into Pucon and be chocked full of traffic and the tailback or jams can be over 4 kilometres long. If you are planning on coming in February, start real early but expect only to get half in compared to the Spring or Autumn. Usually the local kayakers will head south to Patagonia in February to escape the crowds of Pucon.
The weather will be hot, it is quite dry at this time of year with just the occasional shower in Pucon.
Autumn Kayaking Season in Pucon - March onwards
The crowds have disappeared from Pucon and the pace of life comes back to normal in the south of Chile. The rivers have dropped a lot around Pucon, though they are by no means empty! We find this is a great time for kayakers to come to Pucon when they are concerned about the grades of rivers as the majority of rivers are very different to the Spring time. We have had good Class 3-4 kayakers run the waterfalls of the Upper Palguin on their final days!
The rivers and sections in and around Pucon that will be running are: Lower Trancura, Upper Trancura, Lower Liucura, Upper Palguin. Outside and around Pucon the Rio San Pedro will be low but fun and the Lower Fuy will have some fantastic waves to surf!! Of course if there is some heavy rainfall then other sections of white water and rivers will come up in Pucon.
Though it is not as hot as the Summer, March is still a nice time to visit. The weather does become more unstable but with a few days of rain our list of rivers expands.
Winter Kayaking Season in Pucon - June onwards
The Winters in Pucon can be pretty grim, the locals are used to the wet weather and as long as you have a dry, warm place to stay with the possibility of drying out your kayaking equipment then it is manageable. The rivers are high, with some of them at huge levels and with these levels they no longer become commercial rivers. It is the height of the European Summer and I would suggest coming to Austria to kayak! The rivers are stunning, we have the longest season in the Alps, the mountains and scenery are spectacular and of course who does not like an Apfelstruedl?
So this is our guide to the best time to come and kayak in Pucon, Chile. We will be either adding to this or writing a new blog with more information for Beginners and Class 2 kayakers.
In the meantime, if you have any suggestions, advice or are looking at coming on a guided trip to Pucon, then please get in touch.
Kayaking the first waterfall on the Upper Palguin in Pucon.
We hope this adds a little clarification to what you have read and heard about kayaking in and around Pucon.
Buenas Lineas!