By Steve Brooks
We were having our final lunch together in Rishikesh as a group before everyone started to head back home. Stanzin and myself, along with Pawan, had just led a 12-day kayaking adventure in one of the most underrated destinations in the Himalayas!
Steve Brooks Bio
Steve has lived in Austria now for over 20 years and from being a place to come and work seasonally on the river, to a base camp and finally making Austria his home! Steve’s love for kayaking and adventure is infectious and this can especially be seen in the kayak school he set up eight years ago. Based out of the Arlberg region in western Austria the school runs courses for beginners plus coaching and instructing kayakers through all the whitewater grades, including creeking and river running. In-between the kayaking season in Austria, Steve can be found kayaking and leading adventure trips and expeditions in the Indian Himalayas, Peru and Chile in South America. He speaks German like a local and is fluent in Spanish. When he is not kayaking he searches for that perfect powder run in the back country in his home mountain of St Anton am Arlberg or riding his Royal Enfield Bullet in search of undiscovered rivers in the Himalayas. For more information check out: www.gokayaking.at and www.gokayaking.at/blog
Underrated Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand, a Himalayan state north-east of Delhi lays home to some of India’s most sacred mountains and of course, the Ganges. A 45-minute flight or roughly 6-7 hours by taxi will bring you to the yoga capital of the world – Rishikesh. A town not only full of Hindu pilgrims coming to cleanse themselves in the sacred Mother Ganga (Ganges River), it also has thousands of foreigners coming to practice yoga, travellers from all around the world and a fair few souls searching for themselves!
Though, to be quite honest, I am not too sure if we are actually considered normal or even sane to the average Indian for kayaking in such a torrent of water! What they do not know is that it is a big water heaven, especially right at the end of the monsoon!
The whitewater section of the Ganges provides a great place to get used to this kind of volume of water. It is all pool drops that flow nicely to the next rapid with most of the bigger wave trains and hits further downstream so you easily get used to the character of the river by the time you arrive at Golf Course – the biggest rapid on the Ganges.
Do not think of the polluted Ganges down by the plains and Varanasi! Up in the Himalayas the river is clean. For a few years now, beach camps on the side of the river have been banned, so you can even see leopard and elephant footprints on the sandy beaches.
India is currently going through a huge infrastructure project. The main roads leading to all its outposts at the borders are being widened, tunnels are being bored through the mountains and railway lines will be extended up into the heart of the Himalayas!
Shivanandi River Lodge
This meant our ride up to our next location after the warm-up on the Ganges was going to take a little longer due to the construction and disruption. But with a very early start to beat the traffic we managed to arrive at Shivanandi River Lodge just before lunch. Shivanandi is a stunning place located on the banks of the Alaknanda and the perfect place to base ourselves from.
The Alaknanda is one of my favourite rivers in the world! It is the main tributary of the Ganges and has various day sections from Class 3 up to Class V. The further you head up the valley, the harder the river becomes but throughout all the sections the scenery is stunning, the water is big (at the beginning of October) and there are so many waves to surf.
This is one of the beauties of kayaking in this part of India, the time spent on the river is great for everyones technique, river knowledge/understanding and sheer enjoyment. It was called, “No stress kayaking” by one of the team and I can fully agree with that!
In previous seasons, Stanzin, Ute and myself would just head to the Alaknanda for a blast down or a surf. One year we spent five days going back to the same spot as the wave was so, so good!
Pindar River
The Pindar River is a tributary of the Alaknanda and another classic! It has a more Alpine feel, with longer and steeper rapids, less volume than the Alaknanda and warmer water. Different sections offer kayaking from Class 3 upwards with the steep upper reaches accessed by hiking and the classic sections easily accessible by jeep.
When we plan our kayaking trips we try to involve a festival as it is a fantastic cultural experience in many ways! Diwali – the Festival of Light happens around October/November and is one of the most celebrated of Hindu festivals. On its spiritual side, Diwali is to celebrate victories of: light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil to name but a few.
Family homes make Rangoli, which are coloured floor decorations with plenty of traditional Diya oil lights spread throughout the house. Outside it is now a different ball game with crazy techno coloured LED lights! Throughout the festival, sticky, extremely sweet and brightly coloured Indian sweets are given as a gift and eaten in abundance.
fireworks
The other side of Diwali are the fireworks! Over the five days of festivities, fireworks of all styles and types are being set off. From rockets to thunderous explosive bangs – some even rattle the hotel walls! Indians are setting off what are some of the most dangerous explosive devices ever sold to a civilian population! It is an integral part of the celebrations and no matter how much pollution they cause, with Delhi stuck under a blanket of smog and let alone the injuries involved, I very much doubt you will be able to take away someones sheer enjoyment of what these pyrotechnics can do – especially at those prices!
It truly is fantastic to be part of the Diwali festivities and experience everything about it but sometimes better from a safe distance!
We were now heading back to Rishikesh with a stop along the way to kayak the Bhagirathi River. An extremely important river to Hindus, the Bhagirathi is considered as the source of the Ganges.
Starting high up by the Gangotri Glacier, it starts it journey making its way down to Devprayag and meeting the Alaknanda River.
big bouncy rapids
It is the section below the Tehri Dam that provides some great pool drop rapids in a beautiful gorge, well away from any roads or villages! You have to be careful to make sure they are releasing water from the dam. We kayaked with high water and it was so much fun, with big bouncy rapids and the odd hole to avoid. There are a couple of rapids that get the adrenaline flowing and the heart pumping, one of which finishes right above the confluence of the Alaknanda.
As we peeled into the eddy at the confluence by the temple, people where shocked and extremely surprised to see us kayaking! In fact so much so that it took them more than 10 seconds to realise they should get their phones out to take photos and selfies! It was an amazing end to the trip and a big highlight.
By our last ghat at the take-out some of the team decided to go for the three dunk blessing and cleansing with a difference – kayaking style with three eskimo rolls! Everyone is still living and enjoying life, because as like I said at the start of this piece, the water quality of the Ganges up there in the mountains is good!
more of an introduction
On the way back to Rishikesh in the jeeps, Gina mentioned that this trip is really more of an introduction to this part of the Himalayas. This is certainly true! On this trip the team only paddled a few rivers and sections of what Garwahl has to offer. With other outstanding rivers to be kayaked such as the Mandakini, Nandakini, Yamuna and of course one of the gems of the Himalayas: the Tons. The region of Kumaon has some of the most pristine rivers we have every paddled in the Himalayas. From September through to June you will find some great whitewater. Just be aware that early January can be quite chilly – just ask Robert Sommer, the founder of Robson Paddles!
Don’t get me wrong, India is certainly not for everyone! It can be overwhelming in so many aspects of life and the fight with pollution and rubbish is certainly a big struggle but those who have a fascination in the country and who want to experience something very unique will certainly not be disappointed!
Apart from the great memories, workings, flips, spins, sweet lines and the vibrancy of India, one of the topics at the table was just why is this place overlooked by kayakers? We have been going back to Incredible India to kayak, leading trips and exploring every year since 2008. I just hope the photos do this amazing kayaking region justice!
How to get there
Delhi to Rishikesh:
The plane is 45 minutes flying followed by a 30-minute taxi ride. A taxi from Delhi to Rishikesh is anything from 5-8 hours depending on traffic. There are also nice public buses that you can use but you may be charged an extra seat ticket for your kayak, if they can fit it in!
Currency: Indian rupee
Time zone: GMT+5:30
Transport
Up in the mountains you can use public transport, though it can be problematic trying to flag down a bus as they are not keen to wait while you tie the kayak down on the roof! We only use jeeps up in the mountains!
Permits
Kayaking is a bit of a grey issue in India. Aquaterra organised our permits for us and Shivanandi will be organising permits from next year for kayakers who are basing themselves up there. Not all companies have permits for the rivers you will want to kayak on, so make sure you check!
More info
We will add some more information to our upcoming blogs and occasional newsletter, so check into our website or sign up to our newsletter for more info! www.gokayaking.at
