Futaleufu River

The Futaleufu comes out of Argentina and runs west through a granite valley in northern Patagonia, and its water is an improbable turquoise from glacial flour and its rapids are big - sections rated class IV and V that put it consistently on lists of the world's hardest commercially rafted rivers, with named drops like the Terminator and Infierno. Commercial rafting has run here since the early 1990s. The river has been the subject of a long fight over hydroelectric development: the Spanish utility Endesa held water rights on it for years, the schemes were opposed hard by locals and paddlers, and the rights were eventually relinquished.

What you actually see

• Turquoise glacial water - in a granite valley.
• Class IV and V rapids - among the hardest commercially run.
• Rafting since the early 1990s - with named drops on the run.
• A hydro fight won - water rights on the river eventually given up.

When to go

December to March, the rafting season. Several days.

Honest expectations

This is not a beginners' river; commercial trips are graded and some sections are closed to novices. The water is very cold. Getting there means the Carretera Austral or a crossing from Argentina, both slow. The town is small and seasonal.

Nearby

Lago Yelcho is west; the Argentine border is a few kilometres east.