Monsoon waterslide

Sign up for a rafting trip as this season's torrential downpour turns thirsty streams into raging rivers

Rishikesh Rajan's arms achedas he paddled hard to helpsteer his raft through a particularlysharp bend along theriver. Further downstream,he heard the faint, familiar rumble of agushing rapid and spotted the milkywhite foam that frothed on the surface.The raft's guide hollered at them to stoppaddling and Rajan felt a surge of adrenalineas the little raft hit the rapid anda huge load of water tumbled on them.

"That sums up my all-time favouriterafting experience. Nothing else canmatch the rush," said Rajan, a 25-yearoldsoftware engineer who first wentrafting two years ago as part of an HRteam-building exercise.

Adventure closer home
The river in question wasn't a hugeHimalayan one, but a smaller one closerhome. Unlike snow-fed Himalayanrivers that are gushing torrents of waterall year round, most rivers inMaharashtra are weak trickles in comparison.But as soon as the southwestmonsoon settles into the Konkan byJuly, the meek little rivers swell into anangry force of water, with their ownrafting rapids.

And it's this tiny window of a monthor two every year usually betweenJuly and August that turns into ariver rafting rush for adventure seekersin the state. Rafting in Maharashtrastill isn't as widespread as it is in theNorth and is in fact done only on tworivers in the Konkan belt close toMumbai the Kundalika, near Roha,and the Ulhas, near Karjat.

The level of rapids you find in riversin Maharashtra (levels 1-3) may not bemuch compared to their Himalayancousins (levels 1-6), but rafters say thatthere are other advantages to monsoonrafting in Maharashtra.

Unpredictable levels
"The rivers here are completely rainfed,because of which their levels differevery year. This makes them unpredictableand adds to the fun," said AndreMorris, Outbound Adventure, who hasbeen organising rafting and canoeingtrips on the Ulhas for the last 20 years.

Sometimes, the water levels of theUlhas rise so much that Morris' grouphas landed at the rafting starting pointand decided against rafting that day.Sometimes, they have also decided towait a few hours for the water to recede,given safety concerns.

The rivers are almost dry in the summermonths, which lets adventure companiesscout the length of the river. "Weusually walk down the 7-8 km raftingstretch of the Ulhas in summer to checkthe riverbed for sharp rocks and bouldersand get an idea of where riskypoints could be. So it's a boon from thesafety point of view," said Morris.

As for the Kundalika River nearRoha, its 10-12 km rafting stretch packsin double the fun during rainy months.Apart from being fed by rainwater, theriver also gets water released by a nearbydam of a hydroelectric power plantbetween 7 am-11 am on all days exceptMondays.

"Between the rainwater and thewater released from the dam, very goodrapids are formed, attracting manyrafters to the river during the rainy season,"said Commandant S.P. Ahuja ofMercury Himalayan Explorations, anadventure company that's been offeringrafting trips on the river for overthree years now. "Many are betweenlevel one and level three," he added.

Rafts of all sorts
The rivers also have a few stretchesthat are ideal to go kayaking or canoeingon. But that's taking the adventuresport to the next level if you're thesort who likes to strike it solo, train hardand long in kayaking.

"Kayakers need special skills to handlekayaks in rapid flowing water. Wedon't yet offer courses that teach it, butif an experienced kayaker comes along,we are happy to provide him with theequipment he needs," added Morris.

Want to play the game?

Who can RAFT?
Almost everybody except pregnantwomen, people with heart trouble andthose with severe asthma can raft.Children below 10 years aren'tallowed. Different tour groups havedifferent age restrictions. MercuryHimalayan Explorations restricts childrenbetween 10 and 14 years to certainsections on the river, OutboundAdventure has an age limit of 12 years.You need to be physically fit.
Whom should you contact?
To raft on the Kundalika River:Mercury Himalayan Explorations, cost:Rs 1,200, www.himalayanadventure.com; Nature Knights (organises a pickup and drop facility from Mumbai toKolad), cost: Rs 2,150, www.natureknights.com; And Rafting on Kundalika,cost: Rs 1,250 on weekends and Rs1,000 on week days, www.raftingonkundalika.com.To raft on the Ulhas River, Karjat:Outbound Adventure, cost: Rs 1,600.www.outboundadventure.com.

HT Image