The rapids of Rishikesh

Apart from the holy sites, Rishikesh is a real adventure spot for those who what to taste the thrills of life. The curvy roads with the snarling horns take you Rishikesh. The name is synonymous with holiness. It is a legendary town filled with the richness of Hindu mythology. It has hundreds of places of stay and temples to visit. The sadhus and sants line the borders of the temples while people from all walks of life come in and out of the temples to pay a visit to their gods. The narrow, noisy crowed streets of Rishikesh offer an adventure even when getting across the road. The drivers and motorists have to steer clear not only of the approaching traffic but of vendors who have strayed far into the main road from their shops, and also from the lonely cows and bulls who just traverse the roads as if nothing mattered to them.

For those who want to walk, you may do so as adventure constantly awaits you. A walk along the ganga is most preferred. The beautiful river beds with its green grandeur exposing its richness and capacity to wash away all that comes in its way. The walkers must be prepared for any surprise that comes along. It may be in the form of monkeys that are probably hungry, or in the form of well fed cows or dogs that are just relaxing and taking a walk as well.

The real challenge is to walk on the shores from temple to temple ghat to ghat without burning your feet with the holy dump of cows, dogs and if your are lucky human as well.

The mountains and the river offers a reasonable adventure to the brave. Rafting, trekking, rapelling, rock climbing, wind surfing, bungee jumping and so on are not for the faint hearted. But getting there from the pick up point will make your heart faint. The drivers make sure you have a complete experience of this as they showcase their talents in the formula one style on the ghat roads. They wait to speed and want to finish fast as if they want to see the chequed flag waved out at them.

Actually, this adventure starts even before signing up. It is a test of research skills and bargaining. In the hotel they offer a price that seems reasonable, on the street they seem a bit cheaper and attractive and once you have paid after all the research you are taken with a group of people who have boarded the same boat/raft/dingee/ by paying half your price. That definitely is an adventure.

Well, adventure in terms of sports are spectacular but not well promoted. The shadow of holiness covers the beauty of the adventure. It makes me guess that this location was an adventure sport centre of the gods as all their legends are built around the mountains and rivers. So much so this, is believed to the theatre of action where the famous episode where Shiva drank the poison and got named ‟Blue Neck”.