To be honest, I dislike going out these days as this current pandemic situation has made it almost impossible. But sometimes we feel as if we could travel freely as we did before the pandemic broke out. But I changed my mind, and I was now traveling with my friend on a motorbike in the Himalayas because my friend forced me to travel. My experience this time was quite exciting.
I live in NCR. My friend was coming from Mumbai, and he wanted to go to Rishikesh for river rafting. I felt that would be a pleasant company, as I was interested in going to that area. I was interested in river rafting and also wanted to visit places as I haven’t visited any places for a long time since the pandemic has paralysed our lives for more than a year. He insisted we visit this area on a motorbike.
The distance between Rishikesh and my home is about 250 km. I checked on the buses and found that they take about 6-7 hours. It was about the same time by train as well. As a result, I decided to ride my motorcycle. My friend and I started last Saturday by bike. I calculated that even if I drive at a speed of 70, I will reach Rishikesh in 5 hours.
I know my friend is crazy about river rafting, so I thought I should try this adventurous trip and see how it works for me. River rafting is a sport that provides a special thrill, but we did a lot of other activities too.
Rishikesh is one of the most spectacular places in Uttarakhand state for river rafting and has become a major destination for thrilling adventure sports. There is a facility for adventure sports like rafting on the mighty River Ganges.
In Rishikesh, you can enjoy river rafting and the serenity of the mountains, the joy of camping and the views of the green hills as this place is the gateway to the Himalayas.
From Haridwar, It took us about 15 minutes to reach Rishikesh, just 20–25 km. We reached Rishikesh around 8 in the morning and then, as yesterday, stopped again at the same restaurant for a quick breakfast and then reached one of the booking centers for river rafting.
As I mentioned in my other post you can read HERE
“We reached Haridwar within four hours and then, keeping our backpack in a hotel, we set out to see the banks of the River Ganges.”
Haridwar is considered the gateway of Uttarakhand State at the foothills of the Himalayas and is one of the seven major holy religious cities in India. It is also known as Mayapuri. Har Ki Pauri, Bharat Mata Temple, Mansa Devi Temple, Chandi Devi Temple, Shanti Kunj, Kankhal, etc. are the major pilgrimages here. We proceeded to our hotel to retire for the night.
Everyone there said that we should not have come on Sunday without an advanced booking. In the meantime, we came to know that we could get a booking at Shivpuri in case any group had got their booking canceled. We thought it was the same route that we had taken yesterday for Narendra Nagar towards Gangotri, but we soon found out that we had to go back and proceed on the Chamoly highway. So we turned back and drove past Lakshman Jhula.
As we drove past Laxman Jhula, we saw a few boats in the river. We drove for about 12 km when we saw the first point where people were going down the hill carrying their heavy rubber boats on their heads. We kept driving and soon reached Shivpuri.
Shivpuri is at a distance of 19 km from Laxman Jhula. The River Ganges flows at a great speed here as it reaches a point that is not too dangerous for boating, although the current here is too fast. The bank of the river is surrounded by mountains, which makes the whole environment awesome. It is an ideal place for river rafting, rock climbing, and rappelling.
Fortunately, a group had failed to turn up, so we got a chance. They provided us with life jackets, helmets, and ores. That meant we were lucky, as the boat was already on the river, so didn’t have to carry it on our heads.
We saw various groups traveling by jeep, each with eight people and their driver/guide. All the jeeps were headed there, taking people to the point where the rafting began. Soon we were at that point of the 12 km journey option (There are different points with different distance options).
We took some photos of the place and drove back to where we had seen people getting down the hill. Eventually, we reached the point where we parked our motorbike, changed our clothes, and then reached the point where the guide and the group were waiting for us. We found the group by the color and name printed on their life jackets.
It seemed like magic; the weather was hot, but the feel of the River Ganges was so thrilling that it filled us with a strange joy. The flow of the water was too fast, but since we had our life jackets on and the rafting company had provided enough protection,
We faced some furious tides on this journey, but our boat was built to face these strong ways, yet we were instructed to keep ourselves secure in the boat so that even if the boat was taken by strong flow, we would not fall into the river. Fortunately, no one fell apart from a few expert swimmers in our boat in such conditions that they did it voluntarily. But I saw a few boats get overturned, but they managed to put them right and back in the boat.
Despite the hot weather, we felt comfortable and cold, even shivering. At times, the boat turned back to the strong current of the river and we got soaked with water. Every time we encountered a strong current, our guide shouted instructions to us. Many boats like ours were in the river.
The entire journey was thrilling, and after the initial hitch, we were enjoying it. We were in the middle of the river, and the surrounding hills. At times, we felt confused, as if the big boulders around us were floating toward us. It was very thrilling, as I had never used such ores in my life before. It even tempted me to get down into the river like a few others that did it with the help of a rope around their waist, but the speed of the water stopped me from doing that.
My friend jumped from the boat at a point called Maggi Point, where the boat stopped and the members jumped into the river at a height of about 25–30 feet. I did not jump but enjoyed hot Maggi and tea with others. I could see some people were scared throughout the journey, but nothing went wrong.
My friend did the jump, but he told me later, “It sounds very scary.” I was smiling, thinking how scared he was. I could see that as he reached the edge of that stone, he changed his mind. But then the guide encouraged him and helped him. Later, he told me that as soon as he hit the water, he thought he was dead. But he came back safe.
After this, after some more river rafting in the Ganges, we reached the endpoint. We handed over the leather jackets and other items back to the guide. He took us back to where our bike was. We thanked that guide/driver of the jeep.
We met different biker groups on our way back
Then we spent some more time in Shivpuri. A lovely, picturesque place in the foothills of the Himalayas. It offers various opportunities to indulge in sports like river rafting, rock climbing, cliff jumping, and rappelling. It also has excellent security standards and trained guides for the convenience of visitors.
We were short on time, but the people that spent nights here at camps enjoyed the beautiful mountain and river views, often attracting tourists for a weekend getaway from all over the world. The view here is great, especially during sunrise and sunset. And the bonfire, singing, and dancing on the bank of the Ganges, is a great joy. I wish I could do that, but there is always the next time.
I made this video on our way back
We drove back to Laxman Jhula, and this time we came from the other side of the river by crossing the river through a narrow bridge. The wind was very strong at Laxman Jhula.
We had our food at a way side restaurant. Luckily it was not as crowded as it usually is. On the way, we passed a number of yoga ashrams. One of them was under construction, but it seemed like a grand ashram was in the making.
After some more photo sessions, we started our journey back to Haridwar.
All Images mine