For rivers further from Cuzco, you definitely need to book with a top-quality outfit using highly experienced rafting guides who know first aid as well as rafting and swift-water rescue techniques, because you will be days away from help in the event of illness or accident. The Río Apurímac offers three- to 10-day trips through deep gorges and protected rainforest, but can only be run from May to November. The rapids are exhilarating (classes IV and V), and the river goes through wild, remote scen- ery with deep gorges. Rafters camp on sandy beaches (where sandflies can be a nuisance), and sightings of condors and even pumas have been recorded. Four-day trips are the most relaxed, and avoid the busier campsites, but three-day trips are more commonly offered. This section has limited camping places, and those that exist are becoming increasingly overused. Make sure your outfitter cleans up

the campsite and leaves nothing behind.
An even wilder expedition is the 10- to 12- day trip along the demanding Río Tambopata, which can only be run from May to October. You’ll start in the Andes, north of Lake Titicaca, and travel through the heart of the Parque Nacional Bahuaje-Sonene deep in the Amazon jungle. It takes two days just to drive from Cuzco to the put-in point! The first days on the river are full of technically demanding rapids (classes III and IV) in wild Andean scenery, and the trip finishes with a couple of gentle floating days in the rainforest. Tapirs, capybara, caiman, giant otters and jaguars have all been seen by keen-eyed boaters.
The following rafting companies have the best reputations for safety:
mayuc river rafting ( www.mayuc.com) A professional international operator with
top-quality equipment and guides, offering rafting trips on the Ríos Apurimac and Tambopata. Private trips on even more remote rivers, such as Río Cotahuasi (p170) near Arequipa, can also be arranged.
mayuc (www.mayuc.com;Portal Confiturias 211) Another professional outfitter that takes advance international bookings for Río Tambopata trips. It’s also equipped to take travelers with disabilities. Mayuc (www.mayuc.com; Portal Confiturías 211) This monster operator, very popular with bargain hunters, dwarfs the competition.