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Arequipa: Río Chili Rafting Class III & IV Rapids

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.94 (177 reviews) 95% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/9

Duration3h

GroupUp to 20

LanguagesEN · ES

PickupAt your hotel

White Water 20 Minutes From the City

You get picked up from your Arequipa hotel, driven to the Río Chili put-in, and spend an hour paddling Class II-IV rapids through a canyon section 20 minutes outside the city. All gear is provided, a professional guide leads the trip, and you're back at your hotel within three hours. No experience needed, and the timing leaves your afternoon open.

Step-by-step itinerary

Drive 20 minutes from Arequipa center
Raft 6-7 km on Río Chili
Navigate Class II, III, and IV rapids
Enjoy 1 hour rafting on the river
Return to starting point

The Experience

The raft hits the first rapid and the river roars. You're gripping the paddle, water spraying cold across your face, and Arequipa's urban sprawl is already gone — replaced by canyon walls and the sound of Class III water churning beneath you. The Río Chili sits just 20 minutes from the city center, which means you're not spending half your day in a van. You're in the water within an hour of hotel pickup, paddling a 6-kilometer section that moves between Class II and Class III rapids, with a few Class IV sections that actually get your heart going.

The whole thing runs about three hours door-to-door, which is the kind of timeframe that works if you've got a morning free but not your entire day. Your guide is a professional — they handle the safety briefing, read the water, and call the strokes. You get a helmet, life vest, wetsuit, booties and a splash jacket, so you're not sitting in wet clothes for the rest of the afternoon. The rapids themselves are real enough to feel like something happened, but the river is designed so that people without rafting experience can do it. Kids come along too, as long as an adult is in the boat with them.

After you pull out, there's a snack waiting — nothing fancy, just something to eat while you're still buzzing from the current. Then the drive back to your hotel in the city center, and you're done. The whole day doesn't demand much of you except that you show up ready to paddle.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off from city center hotels, professional rafting guides, all river safety gear (helmet, life vest, wetsuit, booties, splash jacket), one hour of rafting on the Río Chili, and a post-rafting snack.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Kanuwa Rafting

Is this one for you?Book this if you want a real whitewater experience without losing a full day to travel and logistics — the 20-minute drive and three-hour total time mean you can fit it into a shorter schedule while still getting an hour of actual paddling.