Quijos Valley
Tena Valley

Papallacta - Of the expert runs we guide this is the most difficult and has the steepest gradient. Few eddies are big enough for more than one boat.

Quijos – Cheese House Run - Puts in on the Quijos just below the confluence with the Papallacta. This is also an expert run with slightly less gradient and more catchable eddies than found on the Papallacta.
Bridge #2 - Continuous Class 3+ or up, depending on the flows. Two thirds down, the Cosanga river joins in. Great for its continuous bounciness and scenery.
Borja to Sardinas - Great playful, warm-up run with one scout.
Sardinas to Bom Bon - Class 4- and up, depending on flows. Playful big-water, drop-pool river sporting one scout and some of the most beautiful canyons in the country.
Bom Bon to Salado - Continuation of the theme; Starts as Class 3+/4-, depending on flows. Playful big-water, drop-pool river sporting a couple of scouts, more Class 3 rapids decreasing to Class 1 as the last mile meanders through virgin rain forest with cascading waterfalls.

Oyacachi - Flows into the Quijos above Bom Bon. Continuous Class 4 and up, depending on the flows. The run is a bouncy hole-dodger racing out of the Oyacachi Preserve. The scenery, if you remember to look up from the whitewater, is stunning.

Cosanga - Town down - Challenging Class 3 with one portage. Small, intimate and technical.
Lower Run - The Classic! This Class 4 and up run starts with a mile of Class 4- warm-up before entering the lower canyon. Boat scouting and eddy hopping through a steep, remote, lush canyon with spectacular scenery keeps you on your toes. Keep your eyes open for the Andean Cock of the Rock -- not a famous Ecuadorian kayaker, but a remarkable flying flame the size of a rooster!

"Phil and Mary's Ecuador trip were truly a unique experience. Their efforts on the rivers, with the people of Ecuador and their dedication to making the experience user-friendly and educational made my trip unforgettable. I'll be back, and soon!"

- Sam Hass OR

Jondachi – Class 5. Our favorite run in Ecuador. Six intimate miles of continuous, challenging but boat-scoutable rapids, with portages, surrounded by giant granite boulders and man-sized ferns in the heart of the jungle. Travel time on this run is one mile an hour. Must have the perfect water level to put on.

Lower Jondachi/Hollin - Super remote! So much so that we hire porters to carry our boats to the put-in. This outstanding stretch of whitewater is the premier Class 3/4 run! It combines the outstanding beauty of the technical Upper Jondachi with the pristine big water drops of the Hollin - without the consequences. You get two fantastic rivers in one day. Read the description of the Lower Misahualli for a taste of what you’ll experience on the Hollin, without the portage!

Misahualli - Middle and Upper - Many stretches, Class 3+ and up. The higher you go -- both water level and put-in -- the harder it gets. Small, continuous, intricate rapids in an open canyon. Ideal intro to creeking!
Hwy Bridge to Tena - Class II decreasing to Class 1. Relaxing, nice scenery and deliciously warm water!
Lower - Class 4- and up. If very low, Class 3+. Below the confluences of the Hollin, Jondachi and Tena rivers the Mis changes character and completely leaves the road to enter the most remote river canyon we offer. Drop-pool with swirly water exits, playful, one portage, surrounded by pure, undisturbed jungle, and littered with iridescent blue morpho butterflies the size of your hand. Dugouts slice through eddies carrying fisherman upstream. Surreal!

Jatunyacu - Class 3 big-water (sometimes Grand Canyon-like) drop-pool river draining the totally virgin slopes of Cotopaxi Volcano. Much of the play is on the fly. It's definitely worth taking a side hike to dip into an astounding natural laguna that cascades into the river upstream of the put-in and is surrounded by sculpted granite.

Piatua – This is a newly explored run in Ecuador and one of the best class 4 runs in the country. Eight kilometers of crystalline water quality and incredible granite boulders. On par with the Upper Misahualli in technicality, just better and more natural!