I Fell In Love With Rafting When I Went To Rishikesh, So I Visited Kolad For Rafting Also

By Author: Shewta
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My parents were always overprotective of me so I was never allowed to go on trips or sleepovers. When I started college I learnt that each year students are taken on industrial visits to various parts of India. So when I heard that I got very excited that finally I will be able to go on a trip and sure enough I went.

I was in the second year of college when along with my classmates I went to Jim Corbett, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Manali. We took a train to Delhi and the remaining journey was by road. We went in the last week of November so it was quite cold but not too cold to freeze. We went to Rishikesh for a few hours but got to do many interesting activities and among them river rafting in Rishikesh was the best. I had never done river rafting so I was very excited and just a tad bit nervous.

We were 5 of us in the raft and had a guide who was steering the raft. Before we began, the guide briefed us on how we were supposed to row the raft and diligently followed his instructions throughout the experience. We completed a total of 16 km in which we came across different grades of rapids, such as double trouble, ...
... golf course and many more. As the first rapid came close, I was engulfed with thrill, nerves and excitement all at once. I didn’t know what hit me as the giant wave thrashed us with full power and it took us a few seconds to take full control of the raft again. As I gathered myself, it is felt like a surreal experience. Soon we battled more rapids and reached the end point drenched but in high spirits.

We even took a dip in the water. It wasn’t very cold there but as we were in the water for a while now, I was fully drenched and freezing. It was an amazing experience and wanted to do it again, so I found out that in Maharashtra I could go river rafting. Kolad rafting was another unforgettable experience. This time I was a little older and had graduated from college. My friends from work had never been river rafting so along with them I took a weekend getaway to Kolad. We could camp by the river so decided to stay there overnight.

Summer was ending but the heat was still unbearable so it was a perfect time to take a dip in the water. We drove to Kolad and left early in the morning so we wouldn’t waste our day travelling. We reached in a few hours and the place was gorgeous. There was greenery everywhere, paddy fields, green hills, dense forest, it was just a treat for the eyes. We set our bags down in the tent and headed out to go rafting. It was a total 13 km stretch filled with many rapids and of course we took that dip in the water.

In those final moments we were all just so excited that we were shouting and singing out aloud. By night we just relaxed and sat around a bonfire quiet exhausted. That time in the water fighting off rapids, enjoying that sense of thrill has always stayed with me and I make it a point to try Kolad rafting at least once a year with a new set of friends each time. I was glad that though I haven’t been able to go back to river rafting in Rishikesh, I found a place close to home where I can relive those moments.

Shewta from Pune, shares her thrilling stories of