Rishikesh - Not just one of the most visited hill stations but a popular destination for camping, yoga, meditation, river rafting & special adventure programs

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Adventure is the first word that comes to mind when we hear about Rishikesh. But not only that, Rishikesh has gain popularity in last 10 years due to many other reasons, which we will learn today through this blogpost. We are attempting to share information which can you plan your trip in a better way to Rishikesh and chose right things for yourself to make best of the visit to this hill station with beautiful Ganges river flowing through it. 

Rafting is of-course the primary adventure sport of Rishikesh but now there are various companies with are organizing Rock Climbing, Rappelling and Trekkings around Rishikesh. There is another company which is specialised for Bungy Jumping and Flying-Fox. There are plenty of hiking options, nature trails and waterfalls to explore. Are you interested in learning yoga or meditation, Rishikesh has some of the best Ashrams for that. Does river side camping excite you, Rishikesh has great range of river-side camps with various amenities like volleyball infra on sand beaches and evening bonfire with background music of fast flowing water of Ganges river.   

Adventure is the first word that comes to mind when we hear about Rishikesh. Rafting is of-course the primary adventure sport of Rishikesh but now there are various companies with are organizing Rock Climbing, Rappelling and Trekkings around Rishikesh. There is another company which is specialized for Bungy Jumping and Flying-Fox. Let's check out from Photographs and exciting videos from our latest trip to Rishikesh, Uttrakhand (INDIA).Here is an interesting video of Bungy Jumping. Swapnil was the first one to try this and then one more group member did it.Rumjhum, Sanchit & Garima enjoyed Flying Fox at Rishikesh. This sounded more exciting to me. Garima really had fun doing Flying Fox as well as Bungy Jumping at Rishikesh.We were staying at ASPEN Camps and they arranged Rock Climbing & Rappelleing for us. Although this experience was not that exciting but I am sure that there must be some great places in Rishikesh to have good Rock-Climbing & Rappelling experiences.During our stay at Rishikesh, we noticed various Rappelling places around Ganges. While we were rafting, we noticed many camps near Ganges and organizing such sports activities for guests.Rafting is no doubt a special adventure sport of Rishikesh and it's sort of synonym for Rishikesh. Majo tourism in Rishikesh is because of Rafting & spirituality associated with Ganges.Trekking to various places around the hills is one of the exciting activities that I love a lot. These were waterfalls that we explored during our stay at Rishikesh.

Before we jump onto the exciting stuff one can experience in Rishikesh, let's know how to reach Rishikesh :

How to Reach Rishikesh by Air ?

Nearest airport to reach Rishikesh: Jolly Grant airport, Dehradhun 

Distance from Dehradun airport to Rishikesh : 35 kms 
 
How to Reach Rishikesh by Road : 
 
Lot of people prefer to drive from Delhi. Here are distances by road :

Delhi to Rishikesh : 260 km
Chandigarh to Rishikesh : 245 km

One can self drive but please note that terrains around Rishikesh are hilly and some of the roads are little narrow. 

Taxis can be opted from nearby cities. 
 
How to Reach Rishikesh by Rail : 
 
Though there is a station in Rishikesh, but not many trains are operated from there, so it is advised to take trains to Haridwar and then travel further to Rishikesh. Haridwar is connected to major cities and can be reached easily from Rishikesh too. There are buses, cabs and private taxis available outside the station that can be used to reach Rishikesh from Haridwar. 

Rishikesh has highest Bungee jumping spot in India : 

Yes you heard it right. The highest Bungee jumping place in India is in Rishikesh and the height is 83 meters. Minimum age to enjoy bungee jumping in Rishikesh is 12 years. There is a very professional setup with great staff, who not only ensure your safety but pretty experienced to offer great fun. 

Other top 5 places to do Bungee Jumping in India are listed here. 

Here is an interesting video of Bungy Jumping site although it's showing flying fox. 

 

Our friends Rumjhum, Sanchit & Garima enjoyed Flying Fox at Rishikesh a few years back when we had a long weekend trip to Rishikesh. Some of them also enjoyed bungee jumping in Rishikesh and had good reviews to share. Certainly it was expensive and on top of that they charge premium for getting your videos or photographs :). 

Rishikesh is the place for River Rafting:



Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.


Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

After Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty. 

Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very Basic)

Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skill)

Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)

Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experience)

Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)

Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)

In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.

Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed. 

Rafting or white water rafting is one of the challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water having different levels of water-current. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. Rafting is considered an extreme sport, as it can be dangerous as times. This Photo Journey shares some of the photographs of Rafting in Risikesh, which is one of the popular places in India to do White Water Rafting.Recently we were in Rishikesh with office friends and Rafting was one of the top item in our list of things we wanted to do. We started in bus from Aspen Camps in Rishikesh and then boarded to jeeps with rafts. We had to start from Marine Drive which is a huge Ganges beach with enough space for folks to prepare and get started. Marine Drive is a place, strategically identified to start Rafting. Shivpuri is another preferred place to start Rafting. Idea is to make people comfortable with various types of water-rapids and then gradually start enjoying various stretches in river. Ganges provides a good range of water rapids and makes rafting an unmatchable experience.Rishieksh is one of the main places to do rafting in North India. Long time back I had done rafting in Vyas River near Kullu and that time all other rafters were professionals and I was covering a particular camp for Tourism Development program. Since I was not much involved in rafting activities, I couldn't enjoy it much that time. At Rishikesh, we had a wonderful coach/leader, who made rafting experience as great fun.After reaching Marine Drive Ganges beach, everyone of us got life jackets, a pedal and helmet. All three important things were with us and coach told us the best ways of using these three. All set with tight life-jacket, well settled helmet and appropriately gripped pedals we stepped into the raft after cleaning our feet in ganges water. It's recommended not to bring sand particles inside the raft, which can harm later. The coach threw chilling ganges water on us to start the journey in chilled water of ganges with different current levels. Coach with one of other Rafting professional entered into the raft. Then he briefed everyone of us about different commands like fast forward, move backward, stop etc. Initially it was difficult for us to gram every details of each command, but every command was very important for best rafting experience.Apart from basic Rafting commands, coach/leader also tells about basic rules of White Water Rafting. He also understands about each person sitting in the raft about their past experience with water. He also shares some basic steps for people who are not comfortable while sitting in raft. Of course, there are some standard rules to sit on a raft and make yourself comfortable even when body needs to stick with raft through feet in a particpular position. The Thumb rule is to listen your coach and follow him without any alternation, even in difficult situation. Idea is to trust the coach/Leader and follow his/her commands with any panic.So we started with baby steps and raft started moving towards Rishikesh (Lakshman Jhoola). For first 10 minutes, we were really slow and it was more of practice session, wehere coach was making us prepared for following his commands throughout the whole stretch we had to do in river. After practicing all the commands and moving our raft in circle, coach/leader asked us to stand on boundaries of raft and balance with pedal mounted on raft top. None of us could gather courage to stand on the boundaries and negotiated with coach/leader to stand inside the raft and try to balance with pedals. It was one of the major test for us and raft moves a lot. Many times, some of us stumbled and others were getting impacted because of imbalance. This task completed and coach/leader asked us to move forward.First we encountered Good Morning Rapid which is the beginning of Rafting experience. Good Morning rapid always come of the way and it doesn't matter that what was your starting point :). It was very basic but yet exciting because of first encounter with relatively fast flow of water-waves. Before hitting the rapid, some of the screaming while others were laughing to hide the fear :)All these photograph in this Photo Journey are clicked day before we did rafting. One day before we did rafting, we kept going to different places around river bed to shoot rafts sailing through high rapids of Ganges white water. Above photograph shows one of the raft getting up side down at Golf Course. One of the other leader jumped into the water to rescue raft and then every rafter. Within 5-8 minutes everyone was back on top of raft and moved forward towards Laxman Jhoola, which was end point. In such situations, ideally, everyone should listen carefully to what leader says and follow with panic. Things can get worse in case of avoidance of leader commands.The modern rafts are inflatable boats, consisting of very durable, multi-layered rubberized (hypalon) or vinyl fabrics (PVC) with several independent air chambers. The length varies between 3.5 meters and 6 meters, the width between 1.8 meters and 2.5 meters. The exception to this size rule is usually the packraft, which is designed as a portable single-person raft and may be as small as 1.5 metres long and weigh as little as 1.8 kilograms.Rafts come in a few different forms. In Europe and Australasia, the most common is the symmetrical raft steered with a paddle at the stern. Other types are the asymmetrical, rudder-controlled raft and the symmetrical raft with central helm (oars) or Stern Mounts with the oar frame located at the rear of the raft. Rafts are usually propelled with ordinary paddles and or oars and typically hold 4 to 12 persons. In Russia, rafts are often hand made and are often a catamaran style with two inflatable tubes attached to a frame. Pairs of paddlers navigate on these rafts. Catamaran style rafts have become popular in the western United States as well, but are typically rowed instead of paddled.Check out more at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaftingAfter Good-Morning rapid, we crossed - Black Money, Three Blind Miles, Cross Fire, Shivpuri, Return to center, Roller Coaster, Tea off, Golf Course, Club House, Initiation, Body Surfing, maggie point & Cliff jumping, Double Trouble, Hilton and fianally Ram Jhoola. I went till Golf Course only and most of the other rafts from our group ended at Lakshman Jhoola.The most suitable time for River Rafting in Rishikesh is from September to November and from March to April-May. One of the best rivers in the world to experience the sheer exhilaration of white water rafting, it is the sheer invincible power of the Ganga river that often attracts the adventurer to the challenging sport of river rafting at Rishikesh.Generally White Water Rapids are divided into 6 levels of difficulty.Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level required is very BasicGrade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering. (Skill level: basic paddling skillGrade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering. (Skill level: experienced paddling skills)Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill level: whitewater experi\\Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, large volume, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering. (Skill level: advanced whitewater experience)Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous that they are effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill level: successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill and is considered by some as a suicidal venture)In Rishikesh, we have crossed rapids of Level-3 difficulty as max. But it was great fun to face level three rapids. Water comes on to your body and pushes back and sometimes people get down into the water due to thrust.White water rafting can be a dangerous sport at times, especially if basic safety precautions are not observed. Both commercial and private trips have seen their share of injuries and fatalities, though private travel has typically been associated with greater risk. Depending on the area, safety regulations covering raft operators may exist in legislation. These range from certification of outfitters, rafts, and raft leaders, to more stringent regulations about equipment and procedures. It is generally advisable to discuss safety measures with a rafting operator before signing on for a trip. The equipment used and the qualifications of the company and raft guides are essential information to be considered.Like most outdoor sports, rafting in general has become safer over the years. Expertise in the sport has increased, and equipment has become more specialized and increased in quality. As a result the difficulty rating of most river runs has changed.


You can chose different kinds of camps, resorts, Ashrams or hotels to stay in Rishikesh :


Certainly camps are more popular in Rishikesh and especially groups of youngsters. Amongst all kind of camps, young groups prefer the ones which are on the river bank. 

River bank camps also offer diverse experiences. There are different ranges of riverside camps in terms of price as well. Some of them are pretty basic with basic tents, beds and basic stuff. They serve food and that again varies. You have choice to book only for stay and plan meals on your own. This topic itself can be a complete blog as there is so much variation and location also matters because some of them are close to the town and some are pretty far. It's personal choice what you are looking for when planning a vacation in Rishikesh. When you go for riverside camps, please be sure to check if camps have common washrooms or attached ones. 

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

Luxury Camps of Rishikesh in resort styled setup :

There are quite a few camps which are little away from river but at walkable distance. 


Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

These camps give comfort like rooms with experience of tents. They have attached bathrooms on the backside. Usually there is good green area with nice landscaping and various activities. 


During one of the visits to Rishikesh we stayed at ASPEN Adventure camp.

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.
 
At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. Don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. So again it's about what range of camp you chose. There must be camping resorts with good restaurants and food.   
 
Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. 

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

Rishikesh has a lot to offer for nature lovers : 

Being a hill station around Ganges river Rishikesh is naturally rich. You can take different kinds of hikes/trails to reach beautiful waterfalls, see birds, butterflies and different kinds of plants/flowers. Rishikesh can be a great place for hiking lovers.  

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. 

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

Here is the first view of a waterfall we got to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. Hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part was amount of drizzle , which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around Rishikesh. 

 Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

Here is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm.  

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford to take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. 

Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the  main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. 

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls. 

Few days back we were at Rishikesh with Office friends to celebrate successful delivery of one of the main project. Apart from Rafting, Rock Climbing & Rappelling; Trekking to various Waterfalls hidden in RajaJi Forests is one of the must do things around Rishikesh. Let's check out this Photo Journey to know more about one of the famous Waterfalls around Rishikesh & RajaJi National Park in India.Here is the first view we get to see after trekking for 20-25 minutes from main road. hundreds of thinnest water streams coming down to spread freshness all around. An amazing drilling effect and layered filtering of water, which is rare to see around most of the waterfalls. Special part of amount of drizzle which is hard to find. This was most special thing we experienced after trekking in RajaJi Forests around RishikeshHere is main waterfall, which is in typical shape that we see in most of the hill stations. RajaJi National park is full of such waterfalls and size of these waterfalls depend upon the season.While trekking, we came across various water streams flowing through the hills. Here is one of the photograph clicked while trekking for Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. A play of slow shutter-speed makes this more interesting with smooth flow of water. The trekking to the waterfall can be hard specially during the summers, but the natural beauty, sound of the flowing water and the cool breeze is sure to mesmerize and keep up the eenergy high with enthusiasm. On the way to Patna Waterfalls, we came across various spider-nets, which were irresistible. Although we couldn't afford take too much time to trek, as it was getting dark but still I managed to click some of the shots. Fellow trekkers were quite motivating for making me shoot these even when they knew that we can get late while coming back.Auto-Focus of Camera was hardly working for Spider-Nets, so all of them were shot with manual focus which more time consuming. I really thank the whole team of trekkers for bearing with me to spend singficant amount of time for shooting these Spider-nets on the way to Patna Waterfalls in Rishikesh. Patna Waterfall is definitely one of the main places to visit while at Rishikesh. Every travller should experience this great trek having amazing drizzling Watrefall. We were staying at Aspen Camps around Gattu Ghat. Aspen folks arranged bus from camp to the point from where the trek starts for Patna Waterfalls. One of the Aspen Mountaineer was accompanying us introduce with this new eco-system. His company was quite helpful and informative as well. Aspen has great team to humble and professional people who have good knowledge of Adventure Sports. Most of them were trained mountaineers, rafters, Rock Climbers.Different people add various keywords to such treks - Difficult, Long, Adventours, exciting etc. But it's all worth to trek through forests to reach such beautiful Drizzling Waterfalls which is popularly known as Patna Waterfalls.Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.Most of the folks from our group trekked to Patna Waterfall and most of the them were quite happy about the decision to be courageous for trekking and having a lifetime experience. Above photograph shows Swapnil, one of the most adventurous soul in our group who was quite excited about this trek and Bungy Jumping. We spent some time around waterfall to relax and have some splashes under the fall. Swapnil was again first person to get under the waterfall and drenched in drizzling water.Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh - Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall. The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful

Above photographs show closer view of drizzling waterfall which was quite wide as compared to typical waterfalls we usually see. The patna waterfall gets its name as it is located on the route to a small hamlet called 'Patna'. The trekking to the waterfall starts from 5 kilometers from Laxman Jhula on Neelkanth Mandir Road. It is a beautiful 2 Kilometers trek through Rajaji Forest. This waterfall is also famous for the limestone caves located next to the waterfall, but we didn't go there. There are also legends associated with it that say there is a small temple located deep in one of the caves.

Patna Waterfall is one of the main places to visit around Rishikesh, which is near to Golf Course Rapid in Ganges. There are two other main waterfalls around Rishikesh -  Neergadh Waterfall and Garud-Chatti Waterfall.  The trekking to the Neergadh Waterfall starts 3 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Badrinath Highway. It is one of the most frequented waterfalls as it is the easiest to access. There is also a small pool where one can bath. The trekking to Garud Chatti Waterfall starts around 4 kilometers away from Laxman Jhula on the Neelkanth Mandir Road. The trek starts from a temple dedicated to Garud God. It is most beautiful during the monsoons, which happens with most of the waterfalls. Richness of water definitely makes a waterfall more beautiful. 

Birds around Rishikesh, Uttarakhand : 

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

Colorful birds keep flying around Rishikesh and especially during morning/evening time. During the day you will find them around trees/bushes close to Ganges river. Various small birds keep moving from one place to another and a small bush to a tree. It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. So when you are in Rishikesh, keep your eyes and ears open to observe birds around you. Walking during early morning and evening can expose you to these winged wonders everywhere. 

Rock Climbing and Rappelling in Rishikesh : 

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

During our stay at Rishikesh, we noticed various Rappelling places around Ganges. While we were rafting, we noticed many camps near Ganges and organizing such sports activities for guests.

One of the things I love about Rishikesh is  that this town has skilled adventure guides. There are multiple places for experiencing rock climbing and some of them are very close to the river, so that when you are waiting for your turn you can spend some time around the sandy beach. I did rock climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges river. Before this I had done rock climbing at Chauli ki Jaai in Mukteshwar. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing. 

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

Above photograph shows one of my friends doing rappelling in Rishikesh. In this, you jump downwards by keeping your legs straight and ensure that you gear are attached well with the rope going down. Comparatively Rappelling is easier in comparison to rock climbing and certainly it varies from one person to other and also dependent on the place where you are doing these activities. 

Flora & Fauna around Rishikesh, Uttarakhand :

Last month we were at Rishikesh with out office group of 40 people and we stayed at ASPEN which is located on Neelkanth Road, with Heul river on it's back. Let's checkout this Photo Journey to know about ASPEN Adventure camp and respective things to considered while staying there.I was not among the organizers of this trip, so can't comments how responsive Aspen folks were during initial discussions but it sounded good from conversations we got to know. One week before we had to go to the camps, many folks in our office had started talking about Aspen as it's not like other river-side camps in Rishikesh.Above photograph was clicked from main road. This is one of the lawns in back side of the Aspen Camp in Rishikesh. Aspen had arranged Bus for us from Delhi, which arrived on time at our office gate. Luggage and relevant stuff was loaded into the bus and journey started from Noida towards Rishikesh. We started in Night and plan was to reach at around 7am. Condition of this bus was very bad, so don't recommend to rely on Aspen for travel. Aspen is no doubt good at hospitality but probably travel arrangements is not something that they do regularly. One Aspen guy was accompanying us from Delhi and he was quite good person, who was also concerned about the bus.Above photograph shows group members relaxing in main lawn of ASPEN Adventure Camp, Rishikesh. This is one of the main lawn that was used by the group while we were at camp.The best part of stay at Aspen camp is their hospitality and care for guests in camp. Although room service is not available at ASPEN Adventure Camp in Rishikesh, but for all other things they were quite proactive and well-planned. All adventure activities were done very well with proper security measures and ensured full fun !!! While at ASPEN, expect packed schedule with full of activities. If some members of the crew choose to stay at Camp, then they may not get some basic stuff like Tea :) . This happened with our group. Few members chose to stay at camp with kids and requested for tea and they were simply refused without any efforts to figure out the possibilities. So anyone who is planning to stay at Aspen, should better understand their schedule and expect least flexibility in other things.Aspen Adventure Camps at Rishikesh has 20 tents with decent bedding and attached bathrooms. Hot water is provided outside the tents. Protocol is to put an empty bucket outside the tent and you will get hot water within 5 minutes. Tents at Aspen were good, although I would not rate them luxury tents. Those were clean and basic tents with attached bathroom, which adds some value in that area At Aspen, very basic food is served which is OK. don't expect fancy stuff in breakfast, lunch or dinner. In fact, I was disappointed to not find any curd item in any of the meals :), although that was not a big deal.Finding decent accommodation at Rishikesh for family outing is quite a challenege. Either chose to stay in hotel or stay in resorts which was not exactly camps. And most of the camps don't have attached bathrooms and other small facilities which are necessary with family. One needs to climb a steep hill to reach road from Aspen Camp which can be quite challenging for aged people, but we enjoyed those ups & downs. For every activity like Rafting, Rock Climbing, Trekking to Waterfall, Pooja at Parmarth Temple etc; we needed to climb that hill up to reach road and board into the bus. But Aspen is beautifully placed in the middle of green hills and a river. We truly felt like in the lap of nature all around us. The adventure guides at Aspen were awesome, especially Des raj and Vijender. They are quite experienced in Rafting, rappelling, rock climbing, trekking etc and took best care of our safety from the moment we arrived in the camp. We enjoyed our adventure activities under their guidance and almost everyone participated in rafting.Aspen Adventure Camp is located at 9 kms from Laxman Jhula, which is not an issue for me but can be for folks who want to be around the main town. For camp, one needs to trek down a little from the ghat road into the valley to reach the camp which might be difficult for older people in the night.There are many other camps on this road and all of them seemed decent as compared to the camps located on river-bed of GangesWe stayed at Aspen Adventure camp for two nights and three days. During one of the evenings, Aspen staff arranged a tour to Parmarth Aarti on Ganges. It was beautiful and quite peaceful..Rafting arrangements was the best part of this trip Vijender from aspen made very sure that all of us enjoy rafting from Marine Drive and with best available Raft-leaders in the town. Especially raft-leader with us was awesome. we had great fun during rafting. There were many folks in the group who had planned not to do it because of fear and almost everyone attempted it & enjoyed to the core.During one of the days, Des raj took us to a waterfall near Golf-Course rapid.Colorful birds keep flying around the Aspen Camp and especially during morning time. Various small birds keep moving from one tent to another and a small bush to a tree... It was motivating for me to get up early in the morning and enjoy the play of these beautiful birds in Rishikesh. I talked to Aspen staff about birding tour but it seems none of them was much aware of birds in Rishikesh region and at the same time, we had not enough time to accommodate more things. Some of the folks from our gourp also did bungy jumping & flying-fox which was fw kilometers away from Aspen Adventure Camp, RishikeshVarious sports stuff was available at Aspen Camp and kids were quite comfortable with staff to ask for things they needed at various moments :)Aspen also organized Rock Climbing and rappelling near Golf-Course rapid of Ganges. These were one of the simplest rock climbings I have seen :). Somehow chauli ki jaali in Mukteshwar comes to mind when it comes to Rock Climbing.Overall it was a good experience at Aspen and I may consider it again for stay at Rishikhesh, which majorly depends upon charges because now I am in better state to conclude the worth.

Probably I don't need to say a lot on this as it reflects clearly in most of the photographs in this post. A hill station with one of the most popular river Ganges - why trees, flowers, butterflies or birds won't be happy around such place. 


I have shared about Lodhi Garden in multiple posts, but here I am sharing some of the photographs I recently clicked. Lodhi Garden is full of health conscious & fitness freaks, especially early in the morning and evenings. And if you visit the place during weekend (early mornings), lot of folks from different parts of NCR (National Capital Region of India) come to Lodhi Garden for jogging, running, yoga, exercise, cycling, and various other fitness activities.Photographs shared in this post are clicked in the evening and the scene looks pretty different during mornings. During morning, there are mostly individuals or couples walking around the jogging paths or doing yoga in lush green lawns. While in evening, you would also see lot of families sitting around the lawns and indulged in different games like - football, badminton, cricket, volleyball etc. One need not to worry about Lodhi Garden timings , as it's open most of the time you would plan to visit.There are few monuments in Lodhi Garden and kids love playing hide-n-seek around these structures. In the late evening, most of these monuments are well lit and photographers love shooting Lodhi Garden in low light. Many families visit Laodhi Garden during the weekends and especially in evenings. Kids can be seen buying baloons, candies and playing football. Some of the parents ensure that kids make best use of open space and do some exercise in terms of games like football, badminton, cricket etc.There are lot of fitness groups who do various kinds of fitness sessions at LOdhi Garden. Frequency of those sessions is different. Some are organized by individual and few by companies like Reebok & Decathlon.Athpula bride inside Lodhi Garden is another interesting place to visit. There is huge water body under the bridge which has lot of geese. Kids love coming to this place and lot of folks bring bread to feed the geese.Lodhi Garden is full of birds. Probably most of the other areas in Delhi are very noisy and huge green patch of Lodhi Garden suits the best for them to relax.Every time I visit Lodhi Garden, I observe a new thing. Whenever I am around India Habitat Center of Khan Market, I ensure that I take a round of Lodhi Garden.


Rishikesh is one of the best places to practice Yoga/Meditation in India :

If you are interested in learning/practicing Yoga or Meditation, Rishikesh can be a great place for the same. There are quite good yoga and meditation schools in & around Rishikesh. While walking around Ganges in early morning, you would find groups and individuals at distance practicing meditation. And yogi here and there trying some simple as well as complicated yoga asanas. 


This link shares 15 Ashrams in Rishikesh for Yoga and Meditation. 

This is a list of Yoga schools/studios in Rishikesh


Rishikesh is full of Ashrams :


Rishikesh welcomes backpackers and a hot destination for adventure lovers : 

Do you like staying in hostels during your travel, you will love Rishikesh and the town has some cool cafes. 

Over the period of time, Rishikesh has seen growth in hostels and especially around the river. Lot of backpackers love to stay at places where they get to meet other travellers and that also helps in planning local exploration or hiking easy in groups. 

With growing inflow of travellers to Rishikesh, lot of new age cafes are coming every year. These are some cool places to explore during the evening when you are dead tired after rafting and want to have some interesting beverages around good vibes. 

Not to miss the evening Aarti around Ganges

Rishikesh is much more than what we could share in this blogposts so we will keep updating this blogpost. or may be write new posts in this series. 

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling - 

1. Manage your waste well and don’t litter Use dustbins.
2. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin. 
3. Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem. 
4. Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits. 
5. Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite.

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Main places to see & Top things to do around Dalhousie : Stunning Hill Station in Himalayan State of India

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