The trip to Rishikesh was one of my best adventures and cherished trips. Not only was it well arranged/planned, but it was also my last trip as a bachelorette (before getting married) with friends. We were a group of 5 mad people (3 girls & 2 guys). We started our journey early in the morning, at around 6 am, in our own vehicle from Delhi to avoid city traffic.

When I look back now, it is very easy to plan things when one is single, with family. A lot of factors have to be considered while traveling, especially with kids. It was Apr 2009 when I went to this magnificent place called Rishikesh.

Rishikesh is a small town that lies in the foothills of the Himalayas of the Garhwal region. It is an ideal destination for pilgrimage, adventure, meditation, yoga, and aspects of Hinduism. The place is known as the “Place of Sagas” and “World Capital of Yoga.” Rishikesh is a vegetarian and alcohol free city, one has to remember this when travelling to this place.

Although there are many things to do here, we went for “White Water Rafting” as our only goal. We had made a booking with one of the camps for a night stay. Earlier, I was a little skeptical about staying in a Tent, but trust me, it was one of the most amazing experiences I had. The camp had all the basic necessary facilities. One will miss out on an experience if one decides to stay in a hotel (there are plenty of hotels available for stay at a reasonable cost).

We started our journey on Saturday and reached the camp area by afternoon. It took us 6-7 hours from Delhi, with a couple of halts for breakfast and lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent Trekking and Climbing. In the evening, we had some snacks, followed by dinner at the camp. We all slept after counting the stars and realizing that we would freeze if we did not go inside the tent. Yes it was pretty cold at night in the month of April.

The next morning, when I woke up, I saw the best possible scenic view. Our Tents were located just in front of a flowing river and mountains. When the sun came up, shining over the mountains, followed by the river, and we stood on the rocks, wow, it is difficult to describe the beauty and the feeling in words.

Post breakfast, we went on our excursion: Rafting. It was the second and top point from where a non-rafter/non-professional can go rafting. Swimming is not required for rafting, although it is an added advantage.

We were a total of 10 pax in the raft 8 adventure seeker and 2 crew. There are 13 rapids that we experienced categorized into Grades 1-4 depending on their intensity. Sweet Sixteen, Three Blind Mice, and Roller Coaster are the few rapids that I remember.

We all jumped into the river in the mid way where water intensity was not that high and we were flowing with the water, the water was taking us forward. That was the time, I realized how much powerful the water is and the destruction it can do when in full force. We again climbed on our raft after some time when high-intensity rapids were approaching.

We got down a second time from our raft at the cliff jumping point. When I was on the raft, I thought it was an easy jump, and the height was also not that high (super easy – a chu-chu for me). But when I climbed up the cliff to jump, I got so scared I just came down without jumping.

But then I again climbed, thinking it was a lifetime types experience and one must do it. So finally I found some courage to jump from 20 feet height. I am not scared of heights but I do not know swimming, hence jumping in water without knowing how to swim was a great achievement for me. I was super excited.

Our rafting ended, and we were back in our camp, picked up our stuff, and went for lunch. We all ate like a monster as we were so hungry, and all our body parts, especially our hands, were pained by rowing our raft. After our lunch at a hotel, we started our journey back to Delhi.

It was the most amazing, unforgettable rafting experience I have had; it is difficult for me to pen down the correct words.

The Things I missed during this trip and will do whenever I visit next time- Adventure – Giant Swing, Flying Fox, Bungee Jumping and may be ATV Ride and Air Flying Safari (if my pocket allows me to do).

Sight Seeing – Triveni Ghat, Laxman Jhoola, Parmarth Niketan…etc

The best time to visit for Rafting – is March – June. It is a little hot during the day, but cool water provides an unforgettable experience.

Tip – One should carry their camera with them to take a lot of pictures only to cherish later