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Rafting Tour Package
in India |
Rafting Rafting, or white water rafting, is a challenging
recreational outdoor activity. It involves navigating
a river, usually comprising of rapids and steep bends,
atop a rubber boat. Nowadays it's almost always on inflatable
rafts and on white water or different degrees of rough
water, in order to thrill raft passengers. Today's modern
raft is made of very durable, multi-layered rubberized
or vinyl fabric with several independent air chambers.
The length varies from 10 to 20 feet and width between
6-8 feet. Rafts come in different forms and typically
hold 4 to 12 persons.
India has world class white water rafting which is quite
popular. Nowadays , domestic tourists too are taking to
it in a big way. Lots of people from all corners of India
land at Delhi with the sole purpose of white water rafting
in nearby Rishikesh. This small, ancient township is a
world famous center for the sport. To get the thrills
you just need to make a short, comfortable journey of
about 200 km from Delhi, with options of taxi, bus and
train. Rishikesh is in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand,
world famous for nature and adventure as well as ayurvedic
spa, yoga, meditation, spiritual retreats and the like.
The 1600 km long mighty Ganges starts from the Himalayan
Gangotri glacier and surges forth majestically across
the northern plains to finally drain in the Bay of Bengal.
Imagine yourself surging down its cascading waters on
a raft, a once in a lifetime experience. River rafting
on the mighty Ganges is a historic and memorable excursion
to take up. Rafters can pull up alongside the banks at
intervals. There are ancient temples and ashrams along
the entire rafting route, on the banks. One can even find
a great sadhu (holy man) or sanyasi (hermit) meditating
on the banks of the sacred Ganges. While surging down
the potent waters on your raft you can spot wildlife at
a distance, like spotted deer, monkeys and even leopards.
In case you are a first timer, there are river raft pros
to guide you every step of the way. It is a challenging
activity of maneuvering and controlling your raft and
position while riding the swirling, wild cascades of water.
The state now provides specialized, trained staff dedicated
to the safety of riders so that everyone can enjoy this
adventure in complete safety.
The waters, called rapids, are graded on a scale of 1
to 6: grade 1 starts from small, rough areas requiring
slight maneuvering to grade 5 which are large waves with
possibility of large rocks, hazards and large drop and
which require precise maneuvering. Grade 6 rapids are
extremely dangerous.
Worldwide it is standard practice for safety regulations
to exist in legislation. They range from certification
of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders to equipment and
procedures. The hotels in Delhi arrange excellent white
water rafting as they all have tie ups with professional
adventure tour operators at Rishikesh and other rafting
spots across India.
Go ahead and discuss safety measures with a rafting operator
before signing on. The equipment and qualifications of
the company and raft guides are essential information
to be considered. Don't hesitate to do your homework and
make enquiries to your satisfaction, both at your hotel
in Delhi as well as with the tour operator before you
hop onto the raft!
Rafting in general has become safer over the years with
increase in expertise and more specialized, better quality
equipment. There was a time when the Colorado River (USA)
or the Jalcomulco River ( Mexico) had swallowed whole
expeditions leaving only boat fragments. But nowadays
they are run safely by commercial outfitters hundreds
of times each year with relatively untrained passengers!
Professionally run camps near Shivpuri, Rishikesh have
expert river runners, excellent safety standards, imported
equipment and trained guides. The rafting capital of India
is the stretch of the mighty Ganga from Kaudiyala to Rishikesh,
where the river has numerous rapids over 36 km. The sport
provides ample scope for nature lovers to explore virgin
landscapes lying along offbeat river ways, which are otherwise
inaccessible by road. It's also environment friendly as
you are not depleting any natural resources in any way.
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