Introduction
On June 30, every year, all the river rafting staff go on the river rafting trip, which is called a fun trip. 30 June is the last day of River Rafting Sesone and this trip becomes the season’s last trip. After June 30, rafting is closed until September 15 (due to the high water level). The purpose of this trip is to enjoy the last day of the session.
Who participates in it?
All the river rafting staff, like the river guide, assistant guide, owner, manager, driver, and some close friends, participate in this hopeful and adventurous trip.
Adventure on the Rapids
River guide staff work the whole season to make their rafting trip special and safe, and this trip they dedicated to themselves. This is a total adventure trip where the river guides aim to get the maximum thrill possible on this ride by hitting high waves and the most dangerous part of the rapid, which gives a thrilling experience.
River Rafting Sessions in Rishikesh
From September 15 to June 30, it is considered a session. All the river rafting operators got permission from September 1 to June 30 (by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board) to run their rafts on the river. but due to the high water level, they start on September 15. The end date of permission is June 30, but if the water level gets so high, rafting can close any day after June 15–30.
Safety on a Fun Trip:
All the river guides ensure safety. Before starting this ride, all the participants need to check their equipment. During this whole trip, 2-3 Safty kayakers are present for rescue purposes. Almost 60%–80% of participants are professional guides, so they have lots of experience in rescue and self-rescue.
Cliff Jumping Extravaganza:
On a fun trip, some river guide professionals also do cliff jumping from the Vesios point, including Malakhulthi Bridge (30 ft.) and other cliff jumping points.
It’s not safe for everyone, but they are professionals, so they do it for fun and to add an extra layer of thrill to the whole trip.
Past-year highlights:
Last year, on June 30, 2022, almost 50–100 guides of the group did this fun trip together. and 100+ individuals. Most of them were in rafts, and some of them had Kayak and Dakki as well.
This group trip started at Marin Drive (Malakhunti) and ended at NIM Beach.
The total duration was 5 hours for this trip.
It starts with a small pooja to thank Maa Ganga for a successful session.
Then we used two cliff jumping points: one was Malakhuti, and the other was Crossfire Rapid.
Some rafts got flipped in the golf course rapids and easily got rescued, and some did flip in flat sections for enjoyment.
This trip came to an end at NIM Beach with group photos and some videos.
Suraj Nagvnshi (Instagram handle: Adventurelover2.0) took all the photos and videos of this whole trip. He is the most famous and most followed river guide in Rishikesh.
Here are some photos you can see. captured by Adventurelover2.O.