Rafting: The Trishuli experience

-By A Staff Reporter

Trisuli is Nepal’s most popular rafting river. One reason why rafting in this river has become very popular, is its easy access from both Kathmandu and Pokhara and its natural bounties. The adventure seekers are enthralled by the scenic valleys and impressive gorges and most of all the exhilarating rapids. There are easier sections as well and this will allow both first time and experienced rafters to leisurely watch the village life and scenery of the Nepalese countryside.

Rafting is one of the most popular adventure sports in Nepal.

During the monsoon month the Trisuli changes character completely as huge runoffs make the river swell and shear like an immense ribbon of churning ocean. When the river is running high and wild, there are hardly any rafters around, and rafting the Trisuli can prove to be truly satisfying and challenging for the true adventure seekers.

Just two hours away from Kathmandu, the Trisuli is without doubt the most exciting white water river rafting experience you can have in Nepal during the smooth season as well as during the monsoon. Try the Trishuli rafting experience and you may realise that this is one of the best rivers for rafting in the entire world.

Now let us look at how you may enjoy a two day trip starting at Baireni and ending at Gai Ghat near the Terai town of Narainghat.

The trip starts in Kathmandu with a bus ride which takes us out from the bustling city life through quaint small villages and fields. It takes just a little over one hour to reach our starting point at Baireni. At the starting point, everyone is fitted with a lifejacket, sprayjacket, and a helmet. Then the trip leader gives a briefing about safety, paddling teachnique, and what to do if you suddenly find yourself not sitting in a raft anymore. Listen carefully to what the team leaders says, as this will help you confidently enjoy your trip.

Rafting in Trisuli is not simply paddling forwards and backwards. You learn how to move the raft with your body weight. This you will practically realise when you try to swing the raft around boulders and  through massive crashing waves.

Nothing can match the exhilaration of running the rapids as the rushing water draws the raft in  the torrents, the adrenaline rises with each wave bucking the raft. The guide shouts instructions above the delighted screams of the crew as we maneuver the raft through the churning waters. While the rapids are great fun, the slow times are just as relaxing for it allows you the chance to look back at the river valley, watch birds at the riverside and may be even see a troop of langur monkeys chattering away in the forested slopes. Most of your time on the river will be with the thrilling rapids and idyllic scenic floats; the rest of the time you’re camping on sandy beaches by riverside villages, feeling the presence of the river in the roar that pervades the air.

Though some of the rapids can be quite challenging, it is nothing beyond the capabilities of a spirited, well instructed crew with a skilled guide at the helm. Great care is taken to ensure a safe trip. We have safety kayaks on each trip and our experienced raft guides are trained in emergency medical procedures. Food served is delicious, wholesome, varied and needless to say hygienically prepared.

The first day provides about five hours of rafting. We have a couple of kilometers of smaller rapids to hone our paddling skills before we drop into the first class3-4 drop, affectionately known as Snell’s Nose. Snell’s nose has a relatively easy entrance then all the water is pushed up against the left side of the riverbank in a chaotic boiling series of pulsing waves. We normally stop for lunch below here just above Monkey rapid. A huge Banyan tree provides shade and you can wander down to a small tributary even as the staff prepare lunch. After lunch try to scan the forest around Monkey rapid and you may see why it got its name. From Monkey rapid there is a stretch of class 3 whitewater and then we come to the crux of the day, which is a long, technical rapid called Teen Devi (this translate as three goddesses). The guides often scout this one, as with changing water levels the ride can become, well interesting. Don’t worry though, your trustworthy and stalwart safety kayak is waiting for you at the bottom, providing of course that he isn’t still surfing on one of the several massive waves to be found along the way.

After Teen Devi things settle down for a while, and then it’s back into the soup with big crashing waves finishing the day off at Twin Rocks. We then drift down below Chaaudi to our campsite. The Royal Beach is well named and this sprawling area of white sand will become our riverside home for the night. We set up camp and have some leisure time to play volleyball, explore the surrounding villages or simply read a book and relax. Eating is one of the main activities as rafting promotes a very healthy appetite.

Day 2 - At around 7 in the morning, everyone packs their gear and come to breakfast where a huge pot of cowboy coffee is waiting. Coffee not only wakes us up, it also insulates us from fear, specially early in the morning, when the vastness of the world and the smallness of our place on it is so clearly evident. However, after enough coffee you’ll walk the camp like Ronald Reagan, when he played the Sheriff in a bad western.

After a hearty breakfast personal gear is loaded onto the bus which will drive to our last stop to meet us. Before starting there is another paddling session to refresh everyone’s memory and scrape away last nights’ fog.

This is probably just as well as today we have another five hours on the water and we get to run the main canyon section of the Trishuli. The swift waters are confined to narrow gorges as we run such exhilaration rapids as Ladies Delight, S-Bend, Highway Monsoon, Upset and Surprise. At Mugling the waters of the Marysangdi tumble into the Trisuli increasing the volume of the already swollen river. After Pingall rapid at Mugling the river eases a bit, but there are still a few challenging rapids and the scenery and geography is very impressive. Depending on the time we stop to have lunch right beside another premium waterfall, or push on and have lunch at the last stop.

At the last stop, the rafts are carried up and dried, while you can relax in the shade and have a cold drink. From here it’s a four-hour bus ride back to KTM. Usually we arrive at around 1900 hrs.

Try this trip once and you will have a rafting trip of your lifetime.

Annapurna plans big

-By A Staff Reporter

Hotel De L’Annapurna will be bringing in the new millennium on December 3, with celebrations galore at the pool-side lawn based on the global village theme.

The whole ambiance of the show will be the synthesis of the old and the new depicting the cultural changes from yesteryears  till the end of this century.  People who will be portrayed in traditional costumes alongwith folk song/dance sequence will be from various ethnic groups such as the Tharu, Rai, Magar, Tamang, Newar etc.

The fun filled evening will include gourmet food from around the world, games, ethnic shows and entertainment, a fusion of  east and the west. Guests will be encouraged to participate in the fun event and be a part of the show.

Rock climbing in Kathmandu

Yes! Kathmandu offers some  terrific places for people who like crawling up vertical cliffs with the help of their fingernails. If you don’t have  time to take on Himalayan peaks, the Valley perimeter offers a number of stone walls guaranteed to keep you on your toes. So, instead of hanging around gathering moss, why not try your hand at rock climbing and get a grip on things?

Nagarjun (also known as Jamacho) is a forested hill which lies  northwest of the Swayambhu Stupa. The climbing cliff here is located inside the Royal Forest and is suitable for both beginners and regulars. The limestone face is about 10-12 meters high and there are several piton-equipped routes. To get there, take a taxi to Balaju (3 km from downtown Kathmandu) and then walk to the Park entrance. From the gate, follow the dirt road to just before the army checkpoint where you will come across a track leading to the right. Follow this trail through trees and shrubs for about five minutes and there’s the cliff.

Another interesting rock wall is situated on the slope of Shivapuri hill to the north of Kathmandu. The granite faces here lie scattered about and the big cliff in the center is equipped with a single route. To get there, go by taxi or bus to Budhanikantha (9km), the shrine of the sleeping Bishnu, then walk west from the bus-stop passing Budhanilkantha School on your right. The trail then climbs along the left bank of the Bishnumati stream through terraced fields and enters the Shivapuri Watershed and Wildlife Reserve. The cliffs can be seen from a distance so you won’t have much difficulty finding the place.