Kayaking
The 10 Most Exotic Places To Go Kayaking
We’ve scouted the world to find some unique experiences you can have in a kayak — from paddling underneath an island to navigating your way along a river on top of a glacier.
From dangerous river runs in whitewater for only the craziest of kayakers, to serene experiences in calmer streams for the more sensible paddlers — we’ve compiled 10 of the most memorable trips you can take with an oar.
1. Under an island
Where: Umfin Island, Ireland
What: A 1,000-foot-long tunnel cuts through the center of this small island off the coast of County Donegal. Local kayak and climbing expert Iain Miller runs trips through it. The tunnel is just big enough to fit a kayak and it includes a 130-foot section of complete darkness. But you need very calm water to kayak here — anything over a three-foot swell could ruin the trip. You need calm seas and lots of lights.
2. Through a treacherous whitewater gorge
Nouria Newman dropping into Tree Trunk Gorge
© Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool
Where: Tree Trunk Gorge, North Island, New Zealand
What: This is one of the most lethal gorge paddles in the world. Slicing through rocks near the Tongariro Crossing, with walls that narrow to just three feet wide, it’s entered via a high drop-in or a tight zigzag. The only way to get out involves a gnarly 40-foot waterfall followed by a 25-foot drop into a pool where undercut pockets try to suck you in on either side.
Note — Experts only: It really isn't safe to paddle here. Leave it to the professionals and be amazed by the jaw-dropping skills that help them navigate this dangerous stretch of water.
3. Through a cave
Where: Chontalcoatlan Cave, Mexico
What: Accessing this two-mile-long tunnel is a challenge, with a steep descent to a giant cave opening. But it’s nothing compared to what’s inside. Giant boulders pierce the churning water’s surface throughout the run and some points are impossible to pass without riding the rocks as well as the river. Paddling this in daylight would be a thrill but doing it in pitch black, with only headlamps to pick out the route, takes things to another level.
4. Down a drainage ditch
3 min
Drainage ditch kayaking
Two pro kayakers run a drainage ditch in Lions Bay, Canada. It's an 800m descent with barely any water.
Where: Lions Bay, Canada
What: This man-made concrete channel leading down a mountain into the Howe Sound in British Columbia is like a giant kayak water chute. It descends half a mile and is suitable for beginners — all you need is a lot of courage to handle speeds of more than 45 mph. It can only be done at high tide, though, or the run ends in a pile of rocks. This one takes more guts than skills.
5. Into a mine
Where: Dawsonville, Georgia
What: Just 1,000 feet in length, the Etowah River tunnel was created in the 1800s to divert the flow during the U.S. gold rush. It contains a Class II rapid created where the levels were misaligned during construction and, at just six feet wide, it can feel claustrophobically tight when you’re kayaking here if the river is running high.
6. Through icebergs
Greenland
© Jay Dickman / National Geographic Creative
Where: Newfoundland, Canada or Tasiilaq, Greenland
What: Kayaking atop a sea dotted with some of the world’s biggest icebergs, towering higher than buildings, is an awe-inspiring experience. Every year, giant blocks of ice are carved off the Greenland coast and float down to Newfoundland in Canada, making for thousands of new routes and formations.
7. Over ice
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Where: Baffin Island, Greenland
What: When Greenland’s ice begins to melt in late spring and summer, stunning rivers start to appear. The result is one of the most stunning places to paddle. But you can only reach this remote location by snow kiting and then trekking — much in the same way that Sarah McNair-Landry, Erik Boomer, and Ben Stookesberry did in Red Bull TV’s Into Twin Galaxies.
Note — Experts only: It’s best to leave this inhospitable region to the experts.
8. Beside a lava flow
Where: Big Island, Hawaii
What: Along a small stretch of Hawaii’s Big Island coastline a huge plume of steam marks the point where lava flow from Kilauea volcano meets the Pacific. A paddle here is like no other, with molten lava turning to rock in front of your eyes and then floating past you while hissing with steam. The sea is like bathwater, but get too close and you could melt your boat!
9. Inside an ice cave
Where: Vatnajökull, Iceland
What: There are plenty of places where you kayak alongside glaciers, but paddling inside an ice cave is pretty rare. The Valdez Glacier in Alaska provided the perfect opportunity until its cave collapsed last year. In doing so it gave us a demonstration of the dangers of kayaking in such a spectacular environment. With Valdez gone, take advice from the local experts in Iceland before setting out to find a cave.
10. Through a remote gorge
2 min
First descent of the Beriman Gorge
Ben Stookesberry and a group of professional kayakers journey to Papua New Guinea to attempt a first descent of the Beriman River, a 40km beast lined with sheer limestone walls.
Where: The Beriman River, Papua New Guinea
What: Deep in the heart of the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea, the Beriman River is a mammoth 25-mile paddle enclosed by sheer limestone walls that rise up to 5,000 feet high. It can only be reached by helicopter and you can only get out by riding the rapids or climbing around the 13 gorges all the way to the ocean. Ben Stookesberry and a group of kayakers took 13 days to become the first to tame it in 2015.
Note — Experts only: For the true explorers out there. Don't go – just watch this instead.