Wednesday, July 6, 2011

River Rafting in Uttarakhand

In Garhwal, the sacred river Ganga offers the professional as well as the amateur the exhilaration of whitewater river rafting. The rivers Alakananda & Bhagirathi are the main tributaries of the Ganga and meet Devprayag, frothing from their racy descent. Their waters are grade IV to V, challenging the expert to survive the thrill. Down river from Devprayag, the Ganga changes into a pool drop river.

This stretch of almost 70-kms is a perfect for the amateur and the novice, for here the river offers some fine grade III rapids and two grade IV rapids, the 'WALL' at Bysi and the 'Golf Course' 4-kms. Below Shivpuri village; each followed by deep and placid pools. Sandy beaches line the river at intervals, allowing river rafters to pull up alongside. The slopes on either side are covered with oak, pine, spruce and fir, with the occasional village and its terraced fields dotting the landscape. Wildlife can be sighted at a distance, especially spotted Deer, Monkeys, Leopard, while multi hued butterflies flit among flowering.

Ganges River has always remains a mystery for explorers and full of surprises for the rafters. Ganga near Rishikesh in Uttaranchal is a popular spot for white water river rafting. The whitewater river rafting stretch of the Ganges is from Kaudiyala to Rishikesh where the river has 12 major rapids over 36-kms long, most of which are easily negotiable and some require our expertise

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