I remember going with my parents to the yoga capital of the world when I was around 20.
I guess I just tagged along not having a clue of what to expect or for a matter of fact had no understanding of this small town back then and it’s significance of its standing to the world of yogis, spirituality, meditation and the mighty Ganges.
The mere existence of this enthralling town was announced when the Beatles travelled to Rishikesh in 1968 seeking meditation from Maharashi yogi and bang Rishikesh found itself on the world map. They were so inspired that they composed music where some parts were reminiscent of Indian classical music.
The fun part is that in Rishikesh there are yogis and then there are the yogis. They are the key to your experiences and mindfulness.
My experience back then as a young adult was witnessing the mesmerising Ganga Aarti on the ghats, dipping my feet into the Ganges, walking on the Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula and listening to some of the stories told to me by my parents about their experiences when they visited with my grandparents!!
Well, this time of the many times, I was here for some thrill, adventure and soulful cleansing by giving my entire self to Ganga Ma and this is how it began.
River Rafting Expedition
We booked with Great Indian Outdoors , an adventure specialist popularly known as GIO. They were in charge of our rafting expedition on the Ganges. There are various points from where you can begin from. We were suggested the Shiv Puri stretch as its known for its thrilling rapids. It’s important you choose an experienced company with lots of safety measures. Do ask questions like how many people on a raft, what is the quality of the raft, whether they provide a good quality life jacket and helmet, how experienced is the guide, do let them know if you can swim, is there some prior training, does another guide on a kayak accompany your raft, what are the activities included in your package. These are some of the points you must clarify before signing up.
It is important to wear comfortable clothing and non slippery sandals while river rafting. Carry a small camera and if you have a gopro then that’s simply the best.
We were 5 of us on the raft including the guide and after all the formalities were in place we began our captivating adventure. At first it was overwhelming. All this while we were at a height looking down on the river and the rapids from up look like miniature whirlpools only to realise the world looks different from down here. When the guide said “Team forward” with all the force and energy of our arms each of us was trying to co-ordinate and synchronise the rowing, we quickly got hang of it and began to enjoy ourselves
The rafting stretch is around 16 kms and the rapids on this stretch are mostly grade 2 and grade 3. You need to be a skilled rafter for Grade 4 and above. So this is a perfect experience for beginners. Rapids are areas where the water gets turbulent or there is a drop, the thrill is to negotiate them in the best possible way. Some of the names of these rapids are double trouble, golf course, the terminator to name a few. We had an instance where one of a friends fell into the water but the guide was so efficient that before any of us noticed he got hold of her and pulled her back into the raft! If you are a confident swimmer you can body surf on these rapids, basically jump of the raft and swim into the rapid. If not, there are sections where the water is quite calm and the guide will encourage you to jump off the raft and just float. You might be apprehensive at first but let go off your fear and go for it. You need to get into the river and hold the raft, and once comfortable you can leave it and be on your own for a while. The feeling is magical, just chilling on this mighty river feels a sense of complete, grateful and appreciative of how powerful mother nature is. This stretch is also very scenic so admire and absorb the surroundings.
Jumping Off A Cliff
If you think you have reached the pinnacle of your adventure wait till you hear the next one, which is jumping off a cliff into the Ganges. Yes you read that perfectly well ‘jumping from a cliff into the Ganges’ After almost two hours of rafting you will reach a cliff where you can get off the raft and take a break and eat some piping hot Maggi. The cliff is located on the lower stretch just 2 kms before Laxman Jhula. The guide will motivate and encourage you to jump off first the lower cliff and then the higher one. There is usually a lot of crowd so make your way up slowly. My advice, don’t look down just take a deep breadth and jump! The jump will give you a feeling of liberation and elevate your senses to a new high. You will also get a sense of how ‘deep’ the river is and its massive spiritual and sacred impact on people.
We were so enthralled by our first river rafting experience, we wanted to explore another river. So we extended our trip and decided to try bridge slithering on Yamuna bridge and then raft on another sacred river, the Yamuna. As a part of growing up in India we have always heard stories about the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati and their confluence at the historic ancient city of Prayagraj.
We drove up following the Yamuna and we reached the famous Yamuna bridge. There is a quaint cafe with nice views so capture some memorable photos here. Bridge slithering was also a thrilling experience and rafting on the Yamuna was a different experience as the water level was lower and the river is quite rocky. Each river has its own character and will bring you different experiences of white water rafting. So do try this on other rivers wherever the opportunity.
We loved every bit of our thrilling adventure and we went on to explore white water rafting on more rivers.