Chile Whitewater Kayaking | Pucon Classics Adventure

Chile - Pucon Classics

2026

Arrival Day - 7th November 2026
Paddling Days - 8th November to 17th November 2026
Departure Day - 18th November 2026
Total amount of days - 14 days (including travel)
Accommodation - Cabins on the banks of the Palguin and Camping
Ability level - Advanced

We are super stoked to announce we have teamed up with Ben May from Kayak Chile to offer a 2 week trip based out of his house in Pucon for the ultimate white water kayaking experience!

Ben May is the owner of the company Kayak Chile. Born in the UK he now lives in a cabin next to the Palguin river and paddles this unique river most days. He is the co-author of the Chile White Water Guide book and has paddled with some of the best paddlers from around the world in a variety of countries.

Who is this trip aimed at?

We are aiming this trip at paddlers who are comfortable paddling grade 3+/4 rivers and want to push their paddling in steeper and tighter creeks. This trip is perfect for those who want work on their waterfall running technique. This trip can be physically demanding so a good level of fitness is also needed.

We aim to paddle as many of the "classic" rivers as we can during this trip, and with the huge variety of whitewater available no two days need be the same! Given the quality of the rivers in the area though, the plan can be flexible to allow repeat days on some rivers if the group wants to revisit any favourite runs. Below we have a plan outlining how we'll spend the 12 days in Chile, the final river selection will be confirmed based on water levels and how demanding an experience the group would like.

Sample - 12 Days Pucon Classics:

Day 1 - Arrive in Pucon. Fly or bus from Santiago to arrive in Pucon, stay at Palguin cabins.
Day 2 - Lower Trancura + Upper Trancura.
Day 3 - Upper Palguin (laps, laps, laps).
Day 4 - Maichin
Day 5 - Upper, middle and lower Palguin.
Day 6 - Coilico waterfall laps or Truful Truful.
Day 7 - *Rest day
Day 8 - Upper Nevados
Day 9 - Rio San Pedro overnight trip (camp by the river). Kayak or Raft.
Day 10 - Rio San Pedro (evening stay at palguin cabins).
Day 11 - Repeat any of the above rivers, groups decision (excluding San Pedro).
Day 12 - Fly or take the bus back to Santiago for your flight home.

Travelling to Chile:

For our adventure you will need to arrive in Temuco, Chile on Saturday 7th November 2026. Where possible its best to book the full journey in one, as, if anything is delayed, the airline will sort it. If not possible make sure you leave plenty of time between landing in Chile for customs, baggage collection/re-checking and changing terminal. The flights between Santiago and Temuco run every couple of hours.

Below is a summary of how we recommend you make the journey for the 2026 trip:

Depart London Heathrow Friday 6th November 2026 - Arrive in Santiago on Saturday 7th November 2026 - Connecting flight Santiago to Temuco on the 7th November 2026. We will collect you from Temuco Airport.

For returning to the UK, we recommend booking a flight in the morning of the Wednesday 18th November 2026 out of Temuco and following the same route back as your journey out. Below is a summary of the route:

Morning flight of the Wednesday 18th November 2026 Temuco to Santiago. Mid day or evening flight on the 18th November 2026 from Santiago Airport to arrive in London Heathrow in the morning of 19th November 2026.

Accommodation:

During your time in Chile, we’ll be staying in cozy cabins nestled along the banks of the beautiful Palguin river. Each cabin is fully equipped with a kitchen, living room, two twin bedrooms, and a bathroom with a shower. Bedding is provided, but please remember to bring your own towel.

You’ll be sharing a room, and as always, we will ensure that men and women are accommodated in separate rooms. The only time we won’t stay here is when we are on the Rio San Pedro trip where we will be will camping on the riverbank.

For your convenience, there’s also a hot tub, WIFI and a washing machine available onsite for all guests to use.