My First-hand Experience of Thrill and Adventure

Our river rafting in Rishikesh started after the drive to Kunjapuri. We were in such an extreme sleep mode after we came back from Kunjapuri Temple, we decided to take a nap for 2 hours. Post, we left for another adventure, which was river rafting in Rishikesh. Finally the day came, which I had been planning and dreaming about for a month. Excited for rafting but still had one doubt because we were first-timers. We reached the rafting office, which we had already booked. It was merely a 5-minute drive from our stay. We were not hungry, but I had lemon soda to quench my thirst. Our stomachs were still empty but we were ok, no dizziness. Just a disclaimer to this, I had booked with Red Chill Adventure in Rishikesh.

Note: There are lots of companies that offer river rafting in Rishikesh. The Rishikesh rafting price starts from 300 to 1500 rupees per person, and everything depends on the services. Red Chill Adventure is more trustworthy and has been operating for more than 25 years of experience. We had three guides with us: Devi, Sagar and Deep, and we really enjoyed it a lot. 

We were early and waiting for the other adventure enthusiasts to join us. After a wait of half an hour, our team was ready to move on. There was a foreign couple who came from Spain, and I was excited to join them. So we were a total of 8 people who booked the slot for the same day and same time at 9 AM in the morning. But we booked for 16 km and others booked for 25 km. We were asked twice if we were joining the 25 km rafting. Here, I was ok as I could join the foreigners, but Sam said no, we wanted only 16 km and as we were only two people for that, it became a private rafting trip for us. I was still figuring it out, did I do the right thing and was happy then. 

A maharaja traveler came to pick up. I took the last seat and drove for 11 km to reach Shivpuri. I was still tired from the morning drive, so I took a short nap in the traveler. Once we reached Shivpuri, the driver dropped us off. The rest of the group left for their start location. We saw other adventure sports in Shivpuri like Bungee jumping, ziplining, and others. There were also areas for camping in Rishikesh, Shivpuri and small tent resorts. After a few steps, we saw many rafts and then we met our guides. The guides introduced themselves with their names and then we were asked two things: first, our names and second, was it our first time rafting? Yes, we said, and then our guide, Deep, told us about the safety gear first: the helmet and the life jacket to wear and walk down to the banks. 

We wore helmets and jackets, carried our rafting poles, and clicked photos near the Ganga. Now it was the time for instructions on how to use the poles. The guides demonstrated important safety instructions, including rafting commands and what to do if someone falls into the river. He asked us to keep our phones and wallets in the bag with them and that we would get them at last when we leave. We followed each and every instruction given by them. There was also a kayak, which was led by Sagar, and with us there was also a female guide named Devi. We team up for our first-time experience in rafting. 

The raft was pushed into the water; we sat down and took our place at the front. Our rafting started while we were getting the instruction to use the rafting poles on command. The downward-backward and hold were some basic commands. I was confused initially with the commands but later, with a few minutes of practice, it came naturally.  We were instructed that there will be 4 rapids that we will be crossing. The water splashed on our faces, and after some time we had our first rapid named Sweet Sixteen, which was grade 1. Believe me, it was not sweet at all; it was all water in the raft, and we all got wet from head to toe. Deep, the guide, had a GoPro attached to his helmet which clicked pictures. We were laughing and giggling when we hit our second rapid, Crossfire, a thrilling Grade 3 rapid.

After the second rapid, the guides told us to jump into the river and float. We jumped and started floating as we had worn the life jacket. I swam for time, and then Sagar, who was in the kayak, asked me to grab his kayak like monkey style. It was very interesting, like, I know I was not able to hold on as the river waves were just not allowing me. After some try I grabbed and hung like a monkey. A hold of 2 minutes, the Deep said- come back our third rapid is coming. I was like, wait, I’m coming but moving in harsh Ganga was not easy. Like walking around a park, it was tough.

After a bit of struggle, the guides pulled me back onto the raft. We had our third rapid named Golf Course with grade 4. I just barely saved myself from falling into the river Ganga. A high wave slapped me in my face, and for a moment, I was like, what just happened? Water rushed into the raft, soaking everything, and then our Guide asked us, “Did you enjoy that?”

Here I learned something new:  The grades in rafting are the rapids that indicate the difficulty level. This ranges from Grade I to Grade VI, grade I has low difficulty and increases to Grade VI with the highest difficulty. This includes the navigation of the raft, obstacles in the water, wave sizes from high to low and the currents in the water.

We were asked to jump again in the water and we stayed there for 10-15 minutes. I Enjoyed the sunbath in the river Ganga, clicked a lot of photos and also tried swimming. After some fun in the water, the guides pulled us back onto the raft. And lastly, we were discussing things like how you guys are into rafting and how long you are rafting with our guides. We were in the middle of a conversation when the final rapid appeared—Roller Coaster, a thrilling Grade 4 rapid. This last rapid was really like a roller coaster ride. We were like flying in the air for a moment,  holding the ropes tightly and just praying in our minds. We really enjoyed it a lot, as we planned. 

This was our experience river rafting in Rishikesh, we had the best moment. We reached the end point, where we loaded our raft and the kayak onto our truck. Then sat and drove back to the office. We really had some wonderful times, and this remains in my memories forever. We reached the office, shared our experience, and also collected our photos from Deep. Then we came back home and later had our lunch. This was a day that I had planned for. 

There were four rapids, namely 

1. Sweet Sixteen (Grade 1)
2. Crossfire (Grade 3)
3. Golf Course (Grade 4)
4. Roller Coaster (Grade 4)

Tips for river rafting in Rishikesh:

1. Choose a reliable company so that your safety is in the best hands.
2. Make sure to check for the transfers; if you book a cheaper rating package, then the transfers are mostly not included. In that case you have to reach yourself.
3. Wear dry-fit clothes so that they easily dry under the sun. Wearing wet clothes for a longer time might catch a cold.
4. If your guide says, keep everything in their pouch, like watches, purses, phones and other stuff, then believe them. As if in the water, they are not safe with you.
5. Wear your safety gear like a helmet and life jacket, so when you are in the water, you can float easily.
6. The most important scam alert: the photos taken by your guide are chargeable. They are not for free. It starts at 1500 for the whole session. Later you can divide it among your raftmates.

Read our morning drive to Kunjapuri!