The 10 Most Terrifying Whitewater Rafting Rivers on Earth

From the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to Chile's Futaleufú and Zimbabwe's Zambezi, these 10 whitewater rafting rivers deliver unforgettable Class IV and V rapids.Sometimes you hear the roar miles upriver, the churning Class IV and Class V rapids that rumble through boulder fields, dropoffs and undercuts to the water’s flow that make whitewater rafting so fun and, yes, at times, terrifying. Unlike, say, an amusement park ride, no two rides are the same on wild rivers, where snowmelt or an evening shower may alter the route’s complexion with the intensity of plastic surgery gone awry. Here are ten tours with potential to transform your grin into a grimace and, assuming you make it out, back again. 1 OF 10 Cherry Creek WHERE: California A cherry connotes a complete treat, and a creek suggests casting a fly into a still eddy just beyond a quiet set of riffles. Placed together, however, Cherry Creek resides on top of the West’s Class V rafting experiences. Naturally, outfitters take this whitewater very seriously, as well they should, given that Class V+ is defined by “little margin for error” among surging waves in narrow canyons with potentially life-threatening obstacles, steep drops, and swirling water. The 9-mile Cherry Creek features very little lounge time among the chutes, ledges and holes on a run that descends a whopping 110 feet per mile. 2 OF 10 Colorado River WHERE: Arizona Mention you love whitewater rafting to other American paddlers, and the question, “Have you floated the Colorado?” will inevitably arise like a current blasting into an undercut boulder, followed inevitably by ‘how many days?’ For paddlers, the Grand Canyon is not so much a bucket list item as it is a given; one day your lottery ticket will come in, and you will go. Endurance — trips can last upwards of three weeks — is one element, but Class V, excuse me, #10 (The Colorado has its own rating system), freakouts like Lava and Hermit are both known for knocking one out of one’s comfort zone — i.e., the raft. 3 OF 10 Coruh River WHERE: Turkey Whitewater paddling is, for many, a spiritual journey, a cherished period spent genuflecting with complete focus as the outside noise is replaced by the rapid flow state. The Coruh River doesn’t disappear that far from civilization; the 170-mile excursion within the Kackar Mountains passes Byzantine castles with plenty of flat-water meditative moments, accented by rushes through Class 5 bruisers like the aptly named Nightmare and pastorally labeled The Minister’s Rapid. The Yusufeli Gorge is so tumultuous that the entire gorge is considered Class 5 chaos. Say a prayer. 4 OF 10 Futaleufu River WHERE: Chile Don’t let the sublime turquoise glacial till fool you into a false aesthetic; Patagonia’s Futaleufú River can get ugly, quick. Of course, at 45 miles in length, the “Great River” allows for plenty of meditation, though you’ll want to be clear-eyed during Infernal Canyon, a daunting 1.5-mile gorge presenting enough levels to impress Dante. The big water starts screaming at Entrada, the Class V entrance, swirls into the Class V Purgatory before Dancing with Angels among rigidly angled canyon walls. Rafts portage the Class V+ Zeta, then get spit out from Salida to exit. 5 OF 10 Gauley River WHERE: West Virginia Many of us first learned about river running during a certain Appalachian-based film accompanied by a pair of banjos. West Virginia’s Gauley River continues the saga across 100 rollicking chapters, including several Class V+ plunges through the oxymoronic Pillow Rock, onomatopoetic Iron Ring and literal Shipwreck. And that’s just the Rated R age 16+ Upper Gauley. The lower Gauley is a wee tamer yet enduring 13-mile stretch of 20 named rapids, including Koontz Flume, Heaven Help You, and Pure Screaming Hell, a trio of Class Vs that would make the late Ned Beatty squeal. 6 OF 10 Kaituna River WHERE: New Zealand You can’t talk about nature in the extreme without visiting New Zealand. Not surprisingly, this luscious environment offers the deepest waterfall drop in commercial whitewater rafting, the outrageous, 23-foot-high Tutea Falls on the Kaituna River. The “ride’s” entrance presents a corset-narrow chute enveloped in vegetation before shooting rafters to cascade down the cataract. Fourteen rapids provide a prelude to the operatic aquatic finale that, like all those arias building to Tosca’s climactic descent, lead to Tutea’s magnificent fall. 7 OF 10 Kicking Horse River WHERE: British Columbia It’s fitting the Kicking Horse moniker started with a concussion, when James Hector took a swift hoof from a packhorse. In winter, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort offers the largest set of steep runs in North America; come summer, the Kicking Horse River takes care of the fall (out of the raft) lines. A quick public service announcement: the gentle Upper Canyon is an excellent introduction to rafting for kids and families. The Middle Canyon gets serious with great drops like Man Eater. The Lower Canyon takes no prisoners, two miles of uninterrupted Class IV+ flow. 8 OF 10 Pacuare River WHERE: Costa Rica It’s easy to go Class V crazy when assessing whitewater. After all, it’s the thrills and, yes, spills, that are most often discussed when safely back on solid ground. Yet some of the finest routes are measured by miles of pounding more than a few monstrous moments. Costa Rica’s Pacuare River rat-a-tat-tats its way through 50 rapids, including plenty of Class IVs, while coursing through a series of canyons dripping with jungle flora. Floaters can even break up the journey with a night or two at Rios Lodge where, yes, one can grab an innertube to bob about the river, zipline above the river or simply luxuriate beneath a waterfall shower. 9 OF 10 Sun Kosi River WHERE: Nepal Ah, Nepal, that mythical Eldorado-like environment worthy of a Voltaire satire. Whatever outdoor adventure you seek, there’s a good chance you can indeed do it here. Paddlers trek to the “River of Gold” to dangle their paddles for some or all of the 170-mile route on 8-to-10-day expeditions. Fortunately, sandy shores make for easy sleeping. One needs plenty of rest when negotiating Class V beauties like Harkapur, the most notorious rapid on the expedition. The Himalayan mountains, pilgrimage sites and historic villages frame what is clearly among “the best of all possible worlds” to explore. 10 OF 10 Zambezi River WHERE: Zimbabwe/Zambia From A to Z, however you line up the world’s most treacherous commercial whitewater routes,the Zambezi comes first. Ignore the crocodiles sunbathing on the adjacent rocks, because you’ll need to focus on a set of Class IV and V rapids that stretch as far as the alphabet is long. Magnificent Victoria Falls fuels this perpetual engine that churns through Batoka Gorge, where naming rapid #18, a trio of 15-foot aquatic walls, “Oblivion” seems like an understatement.