Paddle at Dandeli
He though his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before — this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping thing with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again.
-Kenneth Grahams, the Wind in the Willows
Are you in hunt for something adventurous, a true adrenalin rush, a spine-tickling experience, a place to feel the madness of nature, and to explore the spirit of a breathtaking ride?
Mainly for those who go gaga about water sports here is the place DANDELI, located in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, in the Western Ghats region. This place not far from Goa, serves a verdure feast to the souls fed up by monotony of beaches.
Dandeli, the strikingly magnificent place standing at an average elevation of 472m above sea level hosts the second largest wildlife sanctuary in the country. Although the awe inspiring scenic beauty of the place records a place in your heart, White Water River rafting in the River Kali is what mesmerizes you. WHITE WATER RAFTING is one among the few water sports which ought to be done in a lifetime. River rafting at Dandeli transcends the limit of control.
Once you reach Dandeli, there are numerous resorts which offer white water rafting along with other water sports like kayaking, night jungle trekking, Natural Jacuzzi bath, swimming in river, early morning jungle nature walk with birds watching, back waters view of Supa dam and music with night camp fire which add more flavor to the trip and makes it a lifetime experience.
Well, talking about white water rafting, the adventure commences as soon as you move into the Dandeli forests on a four wheeler to reach the massively rattling River Kali enervating the calmness of the woods. Since rafting on its other side is a dangerous sport, involving risk of life, you ought to go through the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of tourism and sign them. It is more of fun and thrill rather than being scared. Before entering the battlefield like river Kali, one must be armed with a lifejacket, helmet and the foremost one, the boating paddle. A bunch of people usually 9 or 10 would be made to fit in one rafting boat led by a Captain (so called guide) who knows just three words namely “forward”, “backward” and “get down”, ought to be considered as the 3 magical words for the rest of your rafting saga. Before beginning with rafting, to prep up, a deep dip into the river makes you ready to face the water, row at your full potential and fills the warmth at bottom. While making a dip into the water which won’t last lesser than 15 minutes, to the amateurs lifejacket makes life much more comfortable in water. Once you bestride the boat with the paddle and the real fun is when the immense flow of water hits right in the face and being drenched in the froth as the boat takes its twisty curves in ‘tween the rocks and hanging branches. This ultimate H2O fiesta goes for 2 hours through 8 KMs with umpteen curves and crooks driving into deepest of the thrills and chills. And the best time to experience it with the utmost nerve is from October to early march.
Kayaking is more like a solo performance, where you row alone and manage not to go deep into the waters. Jacuzzi bath is another electrifying experience, or call it the best massage ever, the nature’s way of doing it, where you are left on the rocks for almost like an hour to bathe in the effervescent water.
If you are the one who wants test your endurance , give an adrenaline rush to yourself and make the most of your physical strength and stamina dropping into rapids rated EXPERT, and likely being overwhelmed by the most amazing scenic wilderness around; Then Dandeli trip for you!
With a bunch of Fun loving youngsters the trip gives memories not any but lifetime memorable ones!! Hope this serves as a groundbreaker to a trip to DANDELI.
The face of the river, in time, became a wonderful book . . . which told us mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it had uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, fir it had a new story to tell every day.
-Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
