The Best Places to Rappel

Descending hundreds of feet in mere seconds with nothing but a nylon chord between you and certain death might sound unattractive, but many climbers view that experience as the perfect weekend adventure. If you like to jump off cliffs, a few places in the world guarantee pure rappelling bliss. Rappelling, sometimes called canyoning, is a life-threatening activity and must not be attempted without the proper equipment and skill.

St. George Utah

The area around St. George, Utah, is a relatively small geographic area, but the many sandstone caves, canyons and caverns lend themselves to breathtaking rappels. Go St. George, an organization dedicated to putting out the word on the best activities in the area, points out that individuals can find the sandstone rock formations of Zion National Park, Snow Canyon State Park and the Virgin River Gorge.

Costa Rica

If desert-like conditions and sandstone aren't your calling, Costa Rica offers the other end of the rappelling spectrum with a wealth of jungle rappelling areas. Descending through the jungle in a scene that would be fitting for an Indiana Jones movie is amazing enough, but take the suggestion of Costa Rica Sunsets, a tourist resource, and throw in a waterfall for good measure. Costa Rican rappelling opportunities include rappels of more than 200 feet in the midst of a rainforest waterfall. Take a swim in the pools once you reach the bottom.

Cachoeiara de Agua Fria, Brazil

Once you've mastered the Costa Rican plunge and are looking to up the ante, you can fly to Brazil, in particular the Cachoeiara de Agua Fria in the northeastern part of the country, to locate your next challenge. Adventure Guide Brazil describes the three-tiered, 620 foot tall falls as an amazing place to rappel for with guides and equipment provided at affordable rates. An area called Raizama is nearby and is home to more popular rappelling locations.

Austrailia

Aussie-style rappelling is also called ram jumping and instead of the reasonably sane "back-out-butt-down" position of normal rappelling, ram jumpers go down face first with one hand free. This style is much more dangerous. The website SPECWAR Info explains it was designed for quick military maneuvers with weapon in hand.