A monsoon adventure: River rafting on the Vaitarna

AdventureBest time to visit JuneAugustYou need 12 daysA clear cloudless blue sky made sure the midday sun beat down on us as we rode down the Western Ghats to the banks of the River Vaitarna While heading towards a relatively lesser known river rafting location we were undoubtedly thrilled at the prospect of an adrenaline rush Not realising that our adventure would begin even before we reached our destinationItrsquos important to know when to squat and when to sit upright in the midst of a rapid Pics Sameer Gosavi and Moeena HalimWhite water rafting in Maharashtra is now synonymous with Kolad in the Raigad district And with their success on the rapids at Kundalika River where the guys from Wild River Adventures first began rafting 10 years ago they decided to set up camp closer to the city just off the MumbaiNashik highway They found that Vaitarna the very source of our cityrsquos drinking water is also teeming with rapids and just as suitable for adventure activities But the twoyearold venture has remained a wellkept secret and the location can well be considered off the beaten track As we later found out this was especially true for us because we were headed from Nashik One wrong turn and we ended up riding 20 kms more than we were meant to The route from Mumbai via Shirol Phata although the same two and half hours long is supposedly easier to followAs the rapids are at a pleasant distance from each other you get ample time to jump right into the river and laze around in the waterBy the time we made it to Wild River Adventuresrsquo base in Savarkut a tiny hamlet where we parked the bike and left our belongings we were already scorched by the heat and left with a harsh sunburn Although we were there merely for the white water rafting the adventure company also organises a host of other activities including waterfall rappelling and kayaking In a few months they will have a campsite ready for travellers whorsquod like to stay a night or two away from the chaos of the city But until that is ready they provide food and accommodation at huts in SavarkutThe cliff jump is a wonderful addition to the rafting experienceAll geared upTwo seasoned guides both of whom have been rafting since they were children back home in Nepal led us down to the river where the inflatable sunny yellow raft was being blown up Since the monsoon hadnrsquot yet arrived then we had been asked to coordinate our visit with the opening of the dam That was the only way wersquod get a gushing river and the muchwanted adrenaline rush in the midst of summerThe tricky rapid named Double Minded can be rough at timesWe donned our helmets and life jackets while our guide Manu instructed us about the raft and its rules mdash it was equally important for us to know when to squat down and when to sit back upright in the midst of a rapid Manu sat at the stern controlling the raft and we were to use our paddles according to his instructions Since we were just the three of us in the eightseater raft we were joined by villagers from a neighbouring hamlet in for a thrilling ride back homeOne of the many narrow sections at the rapidAbout 10 minutes into our session we realised we werenrsquot the only ones enjoying the river even in the summer heat A trio of preteen boys were having a whale of a time making their way down the river using a rubber tyre for a raft As their makeshift raft very nearly got stuck between a rock and a bush Manu merely laughed telling them to up their game Clearly the river couldnrsquot be as dangerous as all that we thoughtBut the beginning of our 11km stretch was somewhat misleading For there are sections up ahead mdash especially at the last rapid which the bunch at Wild River Adventures have nicknamed Tiger Hold mdash that are so narrow therersquos a chance a raft might get stuck in the rocks and worse still tear if you donrsquot follow Manursquos paddling instructions to the tee Another tricky rapid has been named Double Mindedmdashldquobecause it doesnrsquot know whether it wants to be calm or roughrdquo laughed our guide According to Manu who has also worked as a guide at Kolad and Rishikesh while Kundalika may have more exciting rapids the narrow stretches here make it a more taxing job for the guides For emergencies though a second guide constantly kayaks by the raftrsquos sideThe big jumpIt took us nearly two hours to cover the entire stretch although we spent a considerable amount of time in the water rather than in the raft Because the rapids are at a pleasant distance from each other we were allowed ample time to jump right into the river and laze around in the water for a bit Perhaps the monsoon makes the river more rebellious but we found it pretty tame at most spots At one particularly calm spot our companions from the village offered to pick out fresh black jamuns growing on the wild bushBut it was our halt for cliff jumping that was the highlight of our day Getting off the boat we took turns to haul ourselves up the 10foot cliff inch towards the edge take a deep breath and diveEven our oldest copassenger an ageing ajoba couldnrsquot resist the rush of the jump Although the rapids may have been less intimidating than wersquod imagined the cliff jump definitely provided the climax wersquod been hoping for Definitely a wonderful value addition to the rafting experience something yoursquore not going to find at Kolad