Kundalika White Water Rafting!

Rushing River + Raft + Friends + Rains = Great Weekend!!

Now, I have been thinking of River Rafting for years… but going all the way to Rishikesh takes a lot of planning and seems a looong way off! And so, it has been getting postponed time & again. L

But about a year ago, I heard of “Kundalika River Rafting” which can be experienced just about 4 hours away from Mumbai… and hence seemed perfect for a fast weekend trip..!

The last week of August, it finally came about and we called Oye Weekend, for bookings… and was told that we can directly go over to Sutarwadi and meet Estine and pay on the spot. The reporting place is at the MHE (Mercury Himalayan Explorations) Site Office. We were told to reach there by 8:30 sharp. The dam supposedly opens up at a particular time… and the rafting can only happen when the dam opens and the water levels rise.

 We had to leave Borivali (Mumbai) at 4:30 in the morning to reach there on time by 8:30… (the journey normally takes 3 hours but the roads are pretty bad during monsoons.. so take that into account as well).  Our first stop was for Vadapav & Kanda bhajji at Ramvadi (It’s an ST Depot at Pen, but you can take your car inside, where there is a small canteen which is open 24 hours and where you get really awesome & HOT VadaPav even at 6:30 in the morning, which is about the time that we reached).. and took another stop at Kamath’s Govinda (a restaurant at Nagothane, and recommended for good food & clean toilets, which is a requirement if your group has girls..!). Lots of rafting groups seem to stay over at Kamath’s Govinda the day before. The rafting location is just about 30-45 minutes away from there. We actually saw a group over there that later joined us for rafting.

We reached the MHE site office by 8:30, met Estine, changed into shorts, paid up, chatted for a while and then followed their jeep (which had three rafts loaded on top) to the starting point at Sahjey Village through a narrow winding village road…

The surroundings were a collage of different shades of green and very beautiful… with the sun just starting to shine again...

We were one of the earliest ones to reach… and as we had gone there on a weekday (to avail the discounted rates) we were afraid that we might be the only ones there..!! But eventually were joined by about 45 other fellow rafting enthusiasts… alongwith 6-8 instructors.

Most of the instructors were experts brought down from Northern or North eastern india.. and usually worked the rapids at Rishikesh. They work here only for a couple of months… mainly the monsoons which can be termed as the Kundalika River Rafting season.

We spent a pleasant hour exploring the surrounding area, clicking photographs and chatting with the instructors. But a walk down to the river side showed that it was quite pitifully devoid of flowing water… atleast not enough for rafting and especially for rapids..!!

And then, the horn sounded… (much like a war horn)… which they told me was the warning sound that the dam was now being opened... once the horn was sounded, we noticed many groups of villagers who came and sat on a nearby hilltop.. which I later realized was to see us Rafting..!! We seemed to be their sole source of entertainment on a dull weekday morning..! J

And finally, the water came..!! It took about 20 minutes to reach the starting point, where we were waiting… and I don’t believe I can explain its beauty in words.. or even through the video I shot (which you can see below).. it was beautiful (according to me) and scary (according to mom) so the opinion does vary.. but it was worth seeing. The whole rocky bed of the river was within a minute covered with gushing roaring water… and the river basin was filled to the brim. 

By then it was about 10 o clock and all of the participants had finally gathered and suited up with the lifejackets, helmets and paddles…

And the river rafting finally began..! Ofcourse… before getting us into the water, we had a round of basic instructions given by one of the trainers… about “Forward” paddle and “Back” paddle and “Stay/Stop”.  The instructions were given in a very fun and engaging manner.. thanks to the instructor whose name I have sadly forgotten..

We helped put our rafts into the water… and I made sure to jump in and grab the front seat (J) and off we were…! Ours was the last raft to be filled.. and normally where all the other rafts had 8 participants and one instructor.. ours only had 6 + 1 instructor. Guess it gave us more freedom in maneuvering the raft…

We were the first ones to set off down the river… and the first few minutes was about getting a feel of the raft and learning to paddle in sync with your team. I was apprehensive at first as to how we would be able to hold ourselves steady on the raft… but it was “maska”. Once your feet are nicely tucked in the raft, it seems completely natural to be sitting on the side of that raft… I did not feel at any moment that I might fall overboard..! Even through the 3-4 feet waves that we seemed to be riding..!

The next Hour and a Half was pure undiluted happiness…!! (Now that is how I felt… considering my fascination with water… but it was fun for everyone else I talked with later as well). Our Instructor ‘Pardeep’ was of a more definitely adventurous kind, daring us to do stuff and making us let go of our fears of being in a raft for the first time..!!

Starting with getting our heads wet in the river…! Now that we were all secure in the knowledge that our foothold in the raft was locked… he told us to bend backwards out of the raft and dip our heads in the river..! So… that’s what we all did.. on the count of three..! And wow it was refreshing…! But by the time I got all the water out of my helmet.. I realized one of my team members was in the water!! :D Don’t worry, we hauled him in within seconds..! J

Looking back… we saw that the raft following us was also fishing one of its team out of the river..!! :D

Pardeep also dared us to stand on the sides of the raft.. which let me tell you were extremely slippery.. and atleast the first 15 attempts were fruitless… and it was starting to seem like an impossible task..!! But we all finally managed to stand on the outer edges of the raft with the paddle firmly placed inside the raft and acting as a balancing rod.

But then, we were ordered to take our places fast as we were about to enter the rapids..!! Sadly… there were only two major rapids. The first one... is named after some guy… Something John Rapids (I think…)  and the other one was called Rajdhani Rapids..! :D

Once the rapids were over… we entered a patch of river which was quite still… okay.. maybe ‘still’ isn’t a good description… because it still had a strong current and was flowing.. but after the ferocity of the rapids… this was actually very calm & silent… In this stretch.. Pardeep ordered all of us to jump over board..!

Whether you know swimming or not… the lifejackets keep you above water and quite safe… and once you get used to being in the water… you figure out that the best way to enjoy it is to float your way forward… the gentle but relentless current of the river takes you ahead alongwith the rafts and your other team members…

I believe we floated alongside the boats for about 3-4 kilometers of the entire journey… Once you are in the water.. you don’t feel like getting out..! It’s the perfect temperature for swimming.. nicely cool but not cold..!

It was fun with many people making formations while floating.. like the ones sky divers make when floating in the air.. forming stars and rings… with guys climbing the rafts and somersaulting & back flipping into the water…

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, one of the instructors was rowing along in a small Kayak (His duty I guess is to help if anyone falls in the water.) He could actually flip his Kayak over in the water and then make it upright the next instance… It was really worth watching… :D

According to me the most difficult task of this whole experience is climbing into the boat again from the water… managing it alone is definitely an impossible task… with even the boys having to be pulled in by others. Me and another of my girl team members were lucky… the instructor took pity on us and told us to turn around near the raft; took hold of our lifejackets and pulled us out in one quick experienced jerk..! Thank god for buoyancy! ;)

The final lap we spent rowing idly and looking around and in general feeling blissfully happy…

We landed at their pre-decided point. From here, the team members help their instructors to carry the raft over their heads, up the small hill to the road where the vehicles are parked. You get garma garam Vada pav & Potato Bhajji and Boiled Corn Cobs over there. The corn was really sweet… but to tell you the truth… I wasn’t hungry at all… I was still full from the experience of it all..!!

I am definitely going back someday… or maybe now I am ready for the next level.  Anyone wants to join me for a go at White Water Rafting at Hrishikesh?? J