By Sal Montgomery

Not many people haven’t heard of, or at least seen photos of the Rio Claro. The river famous for the ‘Teacups’, or ‘Tazas’ in Spanish. For me, seeing photos of these super clean waterfalls several years ago, were what made me want to visit Chile.

Thank you
Big thank you to both Eli Castleberry and Christof Reich (http://www.christof-reich.com) for the many amazing shots, not to mention many late nights of editing! Thank you to Anja Füchtbauer for her beautiful shots looking down in to the canyon. Also, Dave at Pucon Kayak Hostel for giving me the chance to work in such an incredible place with great people! And lastly all the awesome people I shared this special trip with. Overleaf are a few of my top tips for anyone interested in visiting the Rio Claro.

The Rio Claro

The Rio Claro, literally translating as ‘Clear River’, is 2-3 hours south of the big city of Santiago, near a good sized town named Molina. Load up your truck with supplies here, as once you leave Molina and head towards the Parque Nacional Radal Siete Tazas, you won’t be seeing anymore shops, houses or even many people for quite awhile. As you drive up the valley you will become speechless, especially once you spot ‘Salto la Leona’ (below). I cannot provide you with a more worthy description of the beauty of this place other than simply stunning.

Drive further up the dirt road and the speechlessness suddenly transforms into extremely-excited-toddler mode! For you will find the first section of beautiful, clean boofs. Welcome to the Siete Tazas (seven teacups). The only thing that can tear you away from this position, is the fact that you know a little further up the valley is many more…

The two most well-known sections are the Siete Tazas (seven Teacups) and Veinty-dos Tazas (twenty-two Teacups), and rightly so because they are awesome! Imagine waking up and being able to spend all day lapping two sections made up entirely of super clean waterfalls in one of the most beautiful places you’ve ever been! Not to mention it’s usually hot and sunny!

Seite Tazas

The Siete Tazas (seven Teacups) is a great warm-up or introduction to the river, with (as you’ve probably guessed) seven beautiful, clear water, super clean waterfalls. You don’t have to be a waterfall expert to paddle this section however, in fact many kayakers paddle their first waterfalls here. The beauty of this section is that each waterfall ends in a big, deep, flat pool- allowing for a cheeky roll if required!

Although this is the more straightforward section it is by no means mediocre! There’s some pretty substantial free-fall here and all the drops are super fun! It’s also an awesome place for the more advanced kayakers to work on their boof. It would be difficult for anyone not to enjoy this section- it’s a paddler’s playground!

As it’s a much shorter section, it is less committing than the two higher up sections, however it’s still ‘once you’re in, you’re in’ in nature. Getting out the canyon would be extremely difficult, so although you don’t need to be expert waterfall runners you do need at least some of your team members to be strong paddlers and experienced in rescues in the case of any swims.

Overlooking the last two drops (roughly a 15-footer in to a 30-footer) is a viewing platform, so you will more than likely be applauded by a gaggle of tourists! It’s also the perfect spot if you want photos of you hucking the two larger drops of the section. Look out for tarantulas on the walk back up!

Veinty-dos Tazas

The Veinty-dos Tazas (twenty-two Teacups), yep you’ve guessed it, has 22 waterfalls and is super fun from start to finish. The walk-in takes about 40 minutes depending on how good at carrying your boat you are, I’ve heard of groups taking up to two hours. This hot hike is soon forgotten about once you get to an interesting put-in! Here you can seal-launch (probably not advisable) or lower people-in-boats on ropes. You’re then straight in to it, immediately starting with a sweet flare boof.

From then on you are treated to probably some of the best boofs, flares and hucks you have ever paddled. If you like paddling super clean waterfalls then you will be in heaven.

Although none of the drops or rapids are super complex, there are some that require quite specific lines and this isn’t the easiest river for scouting (it’s impossible to scout at some points), so it’s advisable to go in with someone that knows the river. This will save you an incredible amount of time, which means more laps!

Entresaltos, Garganta del Diablo

The lesser paddled section, known as the Entresaltos (In between Drops), is sandwiched between the Veinty-dos and Siete sections. The Entresaltos has a reputation for being more of an undertaking than the other two sections and is only an option in low water.

As described above, the Teacup/Tazas sections are pretty much pure waterfall runs, whereas the Entresaltos is more of a combination of waterfalls and rapids. Extremely narrow in parts, with interesting twists and turns throughout its course, continually keeping you on your toes! The waterfalls in this section are also very interesting, the most famous one being ‘La Garganta del Diablo’ – Throat of the Devil. The impressive, 180-degree twisting waterfall, falling deep in to the unscoutable canyon ahead. (Kayak Session have just published an incredible photo that Eli Castleberry took of me running this spectacular waterfall from our trip this winter – check out the most recent magazine to see it!). The auto-boof above Garganta is also guaranteed to make you whoop and grin like a little kid!

A small team here is essential. The river is extremely narrow at times, and some of the eddies are very small. A big group in here would be asking for trouble – not ideal when escape is near on impossible.

Once past all the major drops and rapids, the river passes through narrow passages of basalt walls and waterfalls. Now you can sit back and enjoy the beauty as the river winds it way to the take out.

Interesting, exciting and stunning, you won’t forget this river for a long time. With something to offer most abilities of paddler. This was an incredible start to my winter season in Chile and I would strongly encourage anyone that has the chance to go and visit this amazing place to do so. The Parque Nacional Radal Siete Tazas really is a paddler’s paradise.

Information

• Stock up on supplies in Molina before entering the park
• Whistles are essential. Once one of you paddles over that horizon line whistles are pretty much your only form of communication.
• Small teams work best on this style of whitewater.
• Splits are not optional. Veinty-dos and Entresaltos are relatively long sections, with no easy way out and lots of potential opportunities for breaking or loosing paddles!
• Get out of bed! A sunrise lap of the Veinty-dos is a must!
• A choke up could be fatal in some parts of this steep, narrow river; check for current wood situation.
• Check levels – things could get a bit too exciting in there with a lot of water, but you could come away with a sore back if not enough water!
• Many of the bigger drops are not scoutable, so if you don’t have anyone in your team that has run the river before then be sure to do some research before going in.
• With it being a National park wild camping is not permitted but there are a couple of nice campsites as you drive up the valley in Ingles Park.
• Allow at least a couple of days there, more if you can.
• Stay up late and see the amazing sky of stars!
• And most of all – if it’s not already, then get this river high up on your list!