Conditions:Barahuco Canyon-20260227005825

Latest:	21 Feb 2026 (5 days ago)

Reported by:	Blueshade (63 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Moderate High
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	8 hours

Team: 7 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Ok, there is a lot to report on here....

1. We had a 120' rope along and still were not sure it was enough on the entry rap. Unfortunately can't confirm or deny, as we decided to go in the up canyon direction amd then DC to where the canyon starts dry still.

2. There is NO WAY to determine "appreciable flow" from the top of R1. If there is water entering from the spring/entry creek, that alone may not determine anything as far as the difficulty/risk at the major rap at the end. We lost a day of our trip because of the way the previous descenders described their outing during a possibly out of season trip and upon seeimg water at the top half of our group freaked out.. There IS substantial flow entering just before the last big rappel. However, it may be impossible to determine how severe the conditions are based on the flow above at the side creek, below by the HC parking, or even going most of the way into "La Plaza" (as few are probably making it past what someone called a 5.8 upclimb)- I made it but the day was running late and turned around soon after.

Anyway, this last big rappel mostly avoids the worst of the flow (except for passing through it at the top of the rap, where we had fist sized rocks being thrown. Luckily no one was hit. At the bottom of the rapids, simply jump back hard and let go of the rope and the current will push you out. At the flow we had. The rest of the canyon was largely of no concern for flow. However, again, conditions may be a bit of a guessing game, and even when "in season" (drier/lower water) I would expect the "NORMAL" condition of that drop to appear scary- even if it may not actually be in reality for those that are capable. Also, a 120' is advised to use for the rap as it is about 100' on its own and the other 20' are used as a handline or to pull anyone out that fails at pushing off and may get stuck behind the waterfall. Note that it appears that the group from early January DID have higher than normal conditions, so I can't say for certain what they endured. Also note that i would definitely NOT anticipate having chest deep water at the bottom. At the edge of the pool I was on tiptoes while holding the rope.

Note that if you can get one team member through safely, you could likely do a guided rappel DCR around the corner. If the remaining team is not confident in executing the standard rappel.

3. We took a lot of pictures and were working through casually, but we are still bewildered by some of the times presented. We are frequently 1-2hrs under posted times and we did this in 8hrs, with the intention of doing La Virgen still. We bailed on that idea when our cutoff time was passed.

4. We made it to the HC parking with careful driving in a Geely GX3. For the most part there are no sharp rocks, but there are high points and/or rocks to avoid

5. 3/2 wetsuit should be fine for most unless you get cold very easily

6. Few bats were encountered during our descent (nothing compared to the neighbor La Virgen)

7. Did not need a headlamp, but makes for nice pics at times

8. We had a guy that called himself Pimgua that wanted to watch our car our 2nd day at the HC parking. He insisted on 500 pesos. Not wanting slashed tires or anything, we agreed. He did appear to watch it all day, upon our return.

9. On the approach - the road does not TRANSITION into a trail, it is a full left turn onto an obvious trail. On the upper approach, when you come out onto an upper road (don't follow the track), continue down this road about 200m to this point 18.088205, -071.153704 and a sharp cut back on a trail passing below fields until getting to a trail that cuts down through the woods

10. Below the big rap one weak swimming team member got pushed into a corner right when he also did not jump off hard. It did not appear to be hazardous room. Otherwise no hydraulics or siphons were encountered, besides the force of the falls coming down on the big rap.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
21 Feb 2026	Great	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	8 hours	7 people Beginner to Advanced	Blueshade (63 reports)
Comment: Ok, there is a lot to report on here.... 1. We had a 120' rope along and still were not sure it was enough on the entry rap. Unfortunately can't confirm or deny, as we decided to go in the up canyon direction amd then DC to where the canyon starts dry still. 2. There is NO WAY to determine "appreciable flow" from the top of R1. If there is water entering from the spring/entry creek, that alone may not determine anything as far as the difficulty/risk at the major rap at the end. We lost a day of our trip because of the way the previous descenders described their outing during a possibly out of season trip and upon seeimg water at the top half of our group freaked out.. There IS substantial flow entering just before the last big rappel. However, it may be impossible to determine how severe the conditions are based on the flow above at the side creek, below by the HC parking, or even going most of the way into "La Plaza" (as few are probably making it past what someone called a 5.8 upclimb)- I made it but the day was running late and turned around soon after. Anyway, this last big rappel mostly avoids the worst of the flow (except for passing through it at the top of the rap, where we had fist sized rocks being thrown. Luckily no one was hit. At the bottom of the rapids, simply jump back hard and let go of the rope and the current will push you out. At the flow we had. The rest of the canyon was largely of no concern for flow. However, again, conditions may be a bit of a guessing game, and even when "in season" (drier/lower water) I would expect the "NORMAL" condition of that drop to appear scary- even if it may not actually be in reality for those that are capable. Also, a 120' is advised to use for the rap as it is about 100' on its own and the other 20' are used as a handline or to pull anyone out that fails at pushing off and may get stuck behind the waterfall. Note that it appears that the group from early January DID have higher than normal conditions, so I can't say for certain what they endured. Also note that i would definitely NOT anticipate having chest deep water at the bottom. At the edge of the pool I was on tiptoes while holding the rope. Note that if you can get one team member through safely, you could likely do a guided rappel DCR around the corner. If the remaining team is not confident in executing the standard rappel. 3. We took a lot of pictures and were working through casually, but we are still bewildered by some of the times presented. We are frequently 1-2hrs under posted times and we did this in 8hrs, with the intention of doing La Virgen still. We bailed on that idea when our cutoff time was passed. 4. We made it to the HC parking with careful driving in a Geely GX3. For the most part there are no sharp rocks, but there are high points and/or rocks to avoid 5. 3/2 wetsuit should be fine for most unless you get cold very easily 6. Few bats were encountered during our descent (nothing compared to the neighbor La Virgen) 7. Did not need a headlamp, but makes for nice pics at times 8. We had a guy that called himself Pimgua that wanted to watch our car our 2nd day at the HC parking. He insisted on 500 pesos. Not wanting slashed tires or anything, we agreed. He did appear to watch it all day, upon our return. 9. On the approach - the road does not TRANSITION into a trail, it is a full left turn onto an obvious trail. On the upper approach, when you come out onto an upper road (don't follow the track), continue down this road about 200m to this point 18.088205, -071.153704 and a sharp cut back on a trail passing below fields until getting to a trail that cuts down through the woods 10. Below the big rap one weak swimming team member got pushed into a corner right when he also did not jump off hard. It did not appear to be hazardous room. Otherwise no hydraulics or siphons were encountered, besides the force of the falls coming down on the big rap.
5 Jan 2026	Amazing	Very High					Reiternick (44 reports)
Comment: Was in same 12 person descent as Anthony who posted below. Just wanted to add beta on the final 31m rap which was the most complex obstacle of the canyon and very dangerous with our level of flow. There is an initial 6 meters then you cross the flow while remaining DCR and you have a small shelf. I led this part of the rap and flow was so great that I decided to do a pendulum swing (about 3/4 meters down from bolts) to swing across the flow and then rappel at apex on rapellers right. This placed me on that shelf. Attempted to bolt a rebelay but it was mudstone. I decided to stay there locked off on my rope to aid my teamatee through the flow as it was a significant risk that could pin you resulting in drowning. My teamates did a guided rap on my tensed rope. From that shelf, there is another 25m rap which my teamates did on a 2nd rope. Initial dangerous lip with very high flow and bottom has undercut that 2 of our members almost drowned in. Have folks there with rescue rope. If you are small and not strong swimmer, do not do this canyon if flow check matches our high flow photo which we will upload. Ifyou have over 100 canyons in high flow and high risk tolerance and you are are large strong person, this will be one or the better canyons youve done in this level of flow if you understand the risks. After this 31m rap, the remainder of the canyon had hazards comparable to PNW canyons in high flow requiring standard techniques. Leaders of those obstacles obviously need to have very strong swimming skills, flat jump technique, and ability to self escape multiple trap pools. We then setup systems to help other teammates. We had multiple close calls this day, but no injuries. If we had known the flow at final rap, we would not have done the canyon. Be safe out there. That being said, this is a world class canyon, worth a visit to DR to do it, maybe not in early January.
5 Jan 2026	Amazing	Very High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges			Katiepearl20 (5 reports)
Comment: I was in the same group as Anthony and Nick, who also posted here. Here are pictures/videos that would be helpful for a flow check (descriptions in the file names): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DXnX87QohZolSOe9HyOU4b5F_9n3Mdkj Most of our group ended up getting sick from this trip (some with bad ear infections and others with fevers/respiratory issues), possibly from this canyon or Canon de la Virgin. Not sure whether this is due to all the bat poop, accidentally inhaling some water in the very high flow we encountered, or other. Wearing waterproof earplugs or drying out ears after the canyons may be helpful. It’s also worth noting that Canon de la Virgin was a very chill but fun low-moderate or moderate flow, which was more fun that the trickle that it usually is.
5 Jan 2026	Amazing	Very High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	6 hours	12 people Beginner to Advanced	Anthbmarra (3 reports)
Comment: This canyon started out as an easy and beautiful adventure. At one point near the final rappel, a large amount of water was entering the canyon through a spring. This is where things got interesting.... We quickly realized that the water flow was bordering extreme and there was only one way through the canyon, which was to continue. The rappel was intense, dark and extremely disorienting. It drops you in an extremely loud and swirling pool. If this pool had been 1-2 feet deeper it would be a death trap for anyone entering under these conditions. You cannot place redirect anchors to avoid the flow, as the canyon walls are muddy.... It looks like a party had placed bolts in the past and they had been ripped out from the wall. After getting everyone past the final rap, we encountered various hydraulics and syphons. It was a relief to be on the trail again. This is still a world-class canyon, I would just recommend avoiding this canyon in January for all but the most experienced.
23 Mar 2025	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit		5 hours	5 people	Cheveran (101 reports)
Comment: What a stunning canyon. The water flowing through sculpted narrows was sublime. There was also flowstone and bats, contributing to a cave-like feel. The approach track goes through a friendly farmer's (Joselìn's) land. He might like to share some coffee and fresh sugar cane with you! Time of 5 hours 45 minutes is car to car from the 4wd parking, with a lunch break and a leisurely pace taking lots of photos. We did not use the rebelay for today's conditions (and forgot to look for it) and it was just fine.
2 Mar 2025	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	2 people Advanced	Nclegg (460 reports)
Comment: We descended Cañon de la Virgen in the morning and with time to spare decided to re-run Barohuco to further refine the beta. In the absence of bolting equipment and with the approach now dialed in, we moved much more quickly and shaved almost five hours off our previous time. Some heavy rain this morning increased water levels a bit in relation to two days prior. Encountered several local hikers meandering in the lower, nontechical reaches of the canyon.
28 Feb 2025	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	10 hours	4 people Advanced	Nclegg (460 reports)
Comment: This was the second known descent of this canyon from the top down, completed with local DR canyoneers, Nicolás and Will. In 2021, Nicolás had led the first descent in a rather eventful effort that in total took the team over 14h. One member was injured and needed to be carried out of the canyon, and due to a late start most of the route was completed in the dark. Eager to not repeat these mistakes, we started hiking at 5am from Estancia Don Armando and spent around 3h on approach, supported by an older local man named Jorge who is intimately familiar with the farming trails throughout these mountains. We placed several new bolts, including a rebelay at the final rappel sequence. Waterflow was low from R1 through R7, but picked up substantially before R8 due to a spring that gushes out of the wall. Lots of swimming and many jump opportunities. Water was not cold and I was comfortable in a full 4/3. A full 3/2 likely would have been sufficient. A headlamp was useful for the deep narrows below the final rap. Encountered many bats below both R7 and R9.
31 Jan 2023	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	6 people Expert to Advanced	Eddyl (89 reports)
Comment: Perfect flow, not too scary. No need for the flow to be any higher or lower. With great effort, and a few bolt placements, we upclimbed to the crux waterfall. The upclimb is not dangerous or risky, but there are several single moves of like 5.8 level in a waterfall. Most groups will not be able to upclimb this far. You will also want a rope to upclimb the final rappel.