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| Tom on day one |
03/07/2012 – 04/07/2012
To get to the Rio Huancabamba we first got a bus from Lima to La Merced across the Andes over a high pass of 4800 metres, which took 8 hours. After spending the night here we then proceeded to travel to the small jungle town of Pozuzo via Oxapampa, completed in a lively 15 seater minivan, known locally as a collectivo. Pozuzo is a very interesting valley and town as it was founded by German settlers some 100 years ago and the architecture and feel of the town is quite Alpine. Many of the people we met were German in appearance with blond hair and blue eyes. Weiner Schnitzel and German sausage were all on the menu!
To get to the Rio Huancabamba we first got a bus from Lima to La Merced across the Andes over a high pass of 4800 metres, which took 8 hours. After spending the night here we then proceeded to travel to the small jungle town of Pozuzo via Oxapampa, completed in a lively 15 seater minivan, known locally as a collectivo. Pozuzo is a very interesting valley and town as it was founded by German settlers some 100 years ago and the architecture and feel of the town is quite Alpine. Many of the people we met were German in appearance with blond hair and blue eyes. Weiner Schnitzel and German sausage were all on the menu!
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| Tom |
After spending the night in Pozuzo we got up early and drove for half an hour up-stream to the edge of the National Park, 17 km above Pozuzo. The river gave us no warm up and we were immediately thrown into pushy grade 4+ rapids. We progressed slowly as each rapid required inspection. The scenery was fantastic with the river flowing through steep sided jungle gorge, with the road 75 metres or so above.
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| Alex on some bouncy grade 4 |
As the day progressed we realised we wouldn´t be able to complete the river in one day, so we left the boats in the gorge and hiked out, hitching a lift in the back of a pick-up back to Pozuzo. The next day we hiked back into the gorge and paddled for 6 hours finishing in Pozuzo. The river was a fantastic medium volume grade 4/4+. With it´s warm, green water, huge boulders and jungle wildlife it was reminiscent of paddling in Nepal!
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| Alex |
The Huancabamba was first paddled in 2000 by Kurt Casey of www.peruwhitewater.com and it has seen few decents since then. It was a special feeling to be one of a handful of groups to have paddled the river!
Logistics
Transport: Take one of the regular (4 per day) combis from Pozuzo to the entrance to the national park on the way to Oxapampa
Cost: Expect to pay somewhere around S15-S20 per person for transport plus the same again per boat
Length/Time: 6-7 hours of paddling
Other: Remember your deet, the moscas on the walk in are relentless!
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