Bucket List / Adventure Travel Goals
Go Canyoning
Ticked off in March 2016
Abseil down a waterfall, slide down rock chutes and jump into pools, all on the way down one river.
The adventure
It starts calmly enough, with a walk up into the hills in a damp wetsuit and a quick lesson in leaning back on a rope. Then the gorge closes in, the rock turns green and slick, and the only way on is down the waterfall in front of you.
You abseil through the curtain of water with it pounding on your helmet, slide down smooth chutes the river has polished over thousands of years and drop into pools so cold they knock the breath out of you. In the cloud forest above Mérida the gorges are lush and narrow, with moss on every surface and ferns hanging overhead. By the end you're soaked, bruised in a couple of places and grinning like a child, which is exactly how canyoning should feel.
Why it’s epic
- Abseiling down and through waterfalls.
- Natural rock waterslides and pool jumps.
- Cloud-forest gorges in the Venezuelan Andes near Mérida.
What it is
Canyoning means following a river down a gorge however the water goes: abseiling waterfalls, sliding down rock chutes, jumping into pools and swimming the rest.
How to do it
Go with a guided group, who provide the wetsuit, helmet, harness and ropes and teach the abseiling at the start.
Top tip
Trust the wetsuit and lean back on the rope; the harder you grip the rock, the harder it gets.
Need to know
- You need to be comfortable in water, though strong swimming is rarely essential.
- Only go with an established operator; flash floods are the main danger.
- Check your insurance covers canyoning, as many policies list it separately.
Do it yourself
My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
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