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Río Trancura: from the Puesco creek to Pucón’s rafting run

Río Trancura guide near Pucón: lower Trancura class III rafting, the class V Puesco section, flows, access and today’s live Trancura water level.

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Where the Trancura runs

The Trancura drains the southeastern corner of Villarrica National Park, including the northwest slope of Volcán Lanín. It first flows north, then turns west after the Río Maichín joins near Curarrehue, and runs past Pucón into Lago Villarrica. Along the way it picks up the Palguín and, near Pucón, the water coming from the Liucura and Lago Caburgua. On a clear day you can see Villarrica, Quetrupillán and Lanín from the river.

Sections

• Puesco section (class V): the headwaters, about 67 km from Pucón. Put in near Puente Puesco on the international road toward Argentina; within about 500 m the Río Momolluco joins and more than doubles the flow. From there the river is steep, with many ledges and boulder drops, including Tres Troncos about 1 km down, where logs often sit in the right channel. A first take-out is near a wooden bridge and café about 3 km in; the full run continues to roughly 7 km, near a blue church on river left. Rivers of Chile rates it V- below about 12 m³/s, V between 12 and 20 m³/s and V+ above 20 m³/s.
• Upper Trancura: described by Rivers of Chile as one step harder than the lower run; we don’t have a published class or length for it.
• Lower Trancura (class III): Chile’s most popular day raft trip, about two hours on the water. Rapids are mostly read-and-run class II–III. El Pescador has a pushy entry wave train that leads into a river-wide hole at high water. After the Liucura joins at “La Junta” the flow roughly doubles, and La Leona, the biggest rapid of the trip, follows.

Season and typical flows

The lower Trancura can be run all year. At the take-out, flows range from roughly 40 m³/s to more than 280 m³/s (about 1,500 to over 10,000 cfs) depending on the season. The Puesco is a summer creek run whose difficulty climbs quickly with flow.

How to read our Trancura gauges

Our Pucón page uses DGA stations: Río Trancura en Curarrehue (upper river), Río Trancura antes Río Llafenco (the main Trancura reading) and the station at Balseadero Quelhue, listed by DGA as Río Pucón, near the lower take-out. The Puesco has no flow gauge; we show it as 80% of the Curarrehue reading, so treat that number as an estimate when comparing it with the class bands above.

Access

For the lower run, the usual put-ins are near Puente Metreñehue, about 9 km from Pucón on the Caburgua road, or a private put-in slightly upstream toward Menetúe that charges a small parking fee. Take out at the public access at Balsa Quelhue or at the Quelhue swinging bridge, both off the road toward the airport and Argentina. For Puesco, follow the international road through Curarrehue.

Safety

The lower run is commercial and busy, but swims at high water are long and La Leona deserves respect. The Puesco is expert-only: inspect for wood, especially at Tres Troncos, and know that every drop can be portaged.

Frequently asked questions

What class is the Trancura?

The lower Trancura is class III; the Puesco headwaters are class V.

Can you raft the Trancura all year?

Yes, the lower Trancura carries enough water to run year round.

Where can I see the Trancura water level today?

On <a href="https://chilewaterlevels.com/pucon/">chilewaterlevels.com/pucon</a>, with live DGA readings at Curarrehue, above the Llafenco and at Quelhue.

Provisional real-time data from DGA Chile. Always scout and check conditions on the river.

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Sources: riversofchile.com/trancura-lower · riversofchile.com/rio-puesco · en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trancura_River · Updated 2026-10-26