Rafting to Papasidero, on the Lao River

Specifically, the NOLIMITS rafting includes a dinghy route that goes from Laino Borgo to the landing of Papasidero. Among small jumps, waterfalls, exciting rapids, majestic rock walls, lush vegetation and crystal clear water will accompany you along the entire journey. You will always be accompanied by a guide on the dinghy who will explain everything there is to know about the river. Cross the canyon del Lao with waterfalls, rapids, and a landscape that will make you feel like you are in some remote area of ​​the world!

A full day rafting descent, departing around 9.30am from Laino Borgo to begin sailing. The difference compared to the other descents of rafting is that in the No Limits we will have a picnic lunch as is done on expeditions and adventure trips around the world for a total of approximately 29 km of navigation between nature, sport and prehistory.

The relevance of the finds, the presence of a high number of inhumations and the two boulders with engravings make the Grotta del Romito the leading Calabrian archaeological site for the knowledge of the prehistoric cultures of southern Italy in the last part of the Paleolithic.

A graffiti on a boulder of a Bos Primigenius, a very sought-after prey by hunters of the time, an image capable of instantly catapulting the imagination back to thousands of years ago.

For us, today, it is rather difficult to get an idea of ​​a world so far away in time and of which few traces remain. Gather in front of the fire to warm up, cook, chip, prepare weapons and hunting tools or just to sculpt on a boulder what today represents one of the greatest geosites in terms of beauty and high scientific and cultural value in Southern Italy.

A wonderful work that testifies to the practical skills but at the same time also a notable intellectual quality of the first men who inhabited this area. In fact, the drawing represents in perfect proportions the figure of the bull, approximately 1.20 meters long, is engraved on a boulder approximately 2.30 meters long and inclined at 45°. The mouth, the nostrils, the slightly hinted eye and the ear are details, all reproduced with a certain accuracy.

This important archaeological find also houses the monosome burials of three couples which date back more or less to 9,200 years ago BC as well as the discovery of lithic and bone tools, skeletons, ceramic shards dating back to around 4,500 BC.

The very important discovery which occurred in 1961 in the territory of Papasidero not only immediately attracted the attention of several scholars but shed extraordinary light on prehistoric events and the territory. The Grotta del Romito is a special place.

A place inhabited for millennia by Homo Sapiens and there are many traces of its passage since the times of an ancient representative of this species, Cro-Magnon Man:

The cave is located inside a narrow canyon that offered protection and shelter. The current Lao River flows nearby, active during the Paleolithic presence and used as a communication route and also for food and fish resources. Over time, various valorization initiatives have been launched aimed at including the Romito in cultural and tourist circuits.

For lovers of sport, nature and history, the rafting like the other outdoor activities (trekking, canyonig, mountain bike) of the Rivertribe represent the right opportunity to do sport a few steps from prehistory in a breathtaking natural spectacle.

Today, thanks to the Rivertribe, the river crossed and contemplated daily by dinghies and Kayak manages to maintain the wild charm that attracts thousands of tourists season after season, not only lovers of river sports but above all true devotees of nature. Crossing the "Lao Gorges", a canyon up to 11km long and in some sections around 300m high, the river offers a truly incredible panorama; all enriched by waterfalls, lush vegetation, varied flora and marine fossils on the rocky walls.

Thanks to its characteristics, being a karst river, it guarantees an average flow all year round. And thanks to this it has now become a famous destination for practitioners of river sports such as the rafting and the kayak.

So if you want to get to know the wonderful Canyon del Lao on a full immersion day with landing at Papasidero (a stone's throw from the Grotta del Romito) with River Tribe you will certainly not lack emotions.