Rio Mallampampa - First Descent

Alex enjoying the run down

10/07/2012

Some research before our trip lead Adam to discovering what looked like a great possible first descent of a large tributary to the Rio Huancabamba. The Rio Mallampampa (or Huaylamayo as it is marked on some maps) winds its way down from the town of Mallampampa some 15km before it enters the Rio Huancabamba. We paddled this section in one day, camping that night at the confluence.

Derf tackles a drop on the first descent

Alex 

The river begins with several km of low volume bouldery grade 3-4 rapids before easing off to mellow grade 2 rapids set in a beautiful valley. The river continues in this way for 10 km or so until the final grade 4 gorge is reached. The beginning of the gorge is marked by a road bridge crossing the river. Below here the river flows between huge boulders with numerous grade 4 drops. That night we camped before heading further down stream to paddle the upper Huancabamba the next day.

Adam in the mix