Encantador Futaleufú
Two weeks exploring, rafting, and fly-fishing the Futaleafú River valley in Chilean Patagonia.
Dos semanas explorando, haciendo rafting y pescando con mosca en El Valle del Río Futaleafú en la Patagonia Chilena.
by Josiah Roe in partnership with Confluence Fishing
“The river has really big ears,” says Stanford, aka “Stancito”, a 6’ 5” river guide from South Africa, “it listens.”
The location is the (in)famous Sunset Bar of Bio Bio Expeditions, perched high upon a cliff overlooking a tranquil section of the Futaleufú river in the heart of Patagonia Verde (“Green Patagonia”) Chile, complete with homebrew (aka “Fu Brew”), a wood-fired hot tub, an epic rope swing, and set to music from a Bob Marley-centric 2nd generation iPod circa 2002.
Glaciers and sheer-granite faces tower 1,500 meters above the lush valley. The camp/resort, a collection of idyllic cabins and post-card perfect wooden structures, has no WiFi and the nearest cell-service is 40km away via a dirt road.
The isolation is complete.
As is tradition, guides and guests laugh and recount another successful day of rafting on “The Fu”, including a partial capsize where rafters went for “a swim”. The river is forgiving, but heavy and unpredictable.
”Don’t get cocky,” says Derick, a guide hailing from South Carolina, “or She will humble you right quick.”
Meaning “Big River” in the language of the Mapuche, the Futaleufú’s whitewater is the reason kayaking, rafting, and fly-fishing enthusiasts endure multiple flights, bus-rides, and border crossings via dirt roads to experience what locals call “un paisaje pintado por Dios”: a landscape painted by God.
First kayaked in 1985 by Mark Allen, Phil DeReimer, Lars Holbek & Eric Magneson, the Futaleufú was not rafted in its entirety until 1990 by Eric Hertz and Chris Spelius. Now it is home to world-class kayaking competitions like the Futaleufu XL, and unparalleled multi-sport rafting/kayaking/fishing experiences like Bio Bio with some of the finest guides in the world.
While the river originates in Argentina, emphasis is on the Chilean, un-damned portion of 31 miles of Class III - V+ rapids with names like Infierno Canyon, Zeta, Throne Room, The Wild Mile, Mundaca, and Casa de Piedra.
While the Upper, Middle, and in particular the Lower sections of The Futa are renowned for their technical challenges, the bottom of the river, the El Macal whitewater and flatwater, are ideal for new kayakers and for a lazy float through Yosemite-like canyons and past farms, orchards, and picture-perfect fishing holes.
The long summer days lead into cool nights. Community meals, ingredients sourced locally wherever possible, are a way of life in the Valley and at Bio Bio. Family, friends, and neighbors gather to share the news of the world and the Valley, with wine, pisco, and Fernet the most common libations, often capped-off by a bonfire, music from guide Jenner Fox, and dancing.
Salmon and trout were first introduced to Patagonia by European settlers in the 1800’s who hoped to replicate the sport fishing of their homeland, and with no natural predators they have flourished.
Fly-fishing in Patagonia has become legendary, and the Futaleufú and its tributaries such as the Espolon and the Azül are no exception.
Every kind of fishing is possible, season-round: wet, dry, streamers, and poppers with every kind of weight.
The river, the mountains, and the land have enchanted a certain kind of person: adventurous and accepting, self-sufficient yet supportive, and those who call it home do so knowing they have found, or were blessed to be born in, Eden.
To plan your own trip to the Futaleufú Valley, visit Bio Bio Expeditions and Confluence Fishing.
