Rafting is one adventure sport that we had heard a lot of and were keen to experience the thrill that goes with it. When we came to know that there was a Level 2 rapid at Bheemeshwari, we did not waste any time in arranging a trip to the rocky, crocodile infested Cauvery waters. Shamala, Me, Pranitha, Sriram, Garima, Priyank, Prashant and Manasi ventured on this trip.

All About Rafting

I found this interesting post while searching for reviews of rafting in Bheemeshwari, which very nicely explains what whitewater rafting is all about…

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river’s gradient drops enough to form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white. Rapids or the entire river are graded according to an International grading system in six categories, from I to VI, I being the easiest and the safest and VI being the toughest and most dangerous, almost suicidal. Raft is a specially crafted boat like equipment which floats on the water. As rafters you are supposed to sit on the periphery of the raft with a paddle each in your hand. It has multiple channels which are designed in a modular way and builds redundancy in case of any part of raft going bad. A rafting instructor is with you who gives you commands to paddle forward or backward or not to paddle according to where you are in the river, where and how big the rapid is and of course how confident you are in handling yourself in case the raft topples.

Reaching Bheemeshwari

Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp, at Jungle Lodges Resort, is around 100 kms away from Bangalore. It roughly takes about 2.5 hours to reach. The route is fairly simple with decent directions on the way. Basically, you proceed towards Kanakpura from Bangalore. The next named place on the route was Muthathi (which is around 6 kms from Bheemeshwari). Around 30 kms pass through lush green reserve forest area; the drive was extremely pleasant, what with the weather turning really friendly; the lush greenery with some really good road conditions made the drive a veritable treat.

Hospitality at Jungle Lodges

This was one element which left a lot to be desired. We had booked through an agency called, “Care India” (http://www.careindia.in/wwr_rafting.html). However, no one from this organization was present at Jungle Lodges to host us. The staff at Jungle Lodges was also very unfriendly. We reached at 9 am, hoping to start the rafting by 10. However, when we inquired, we got a curt reply that one batch had already gone rafting and that we would need to wait for them to come back…nothing about how long it would take. There’s nothing to drink or snack inside Jungle Lodges..not even a simple cup of tea. Everything was only for “Guests”…people staying overnite…..this particular aspect was very irritating.

We loitered around for some checking out the river and doing general timepass. Finally, we started getting ready around 10:45 types. So be prepared for such delays…

Waiting for Rafting

Into the Cauvery

Thankfully, our guides were very unlike the Jungle Lodges staff. Extremely friendly, sometimes at their wittiest best, the guides made all of us at ease immediately. There were 18 of us in this batch, and we split in three rafts.

About 60% of the time we were passing through calm waters. While passing through the calm stretches, our guide encouraged us to jump into the water. “Buoyed” by the life jackets, most of us in the raft took two – three dips…

There were three or four stretches of rapids, the culmination coming at the end when we passed through what is called the “hole”. The water really dips here and its becomes very turbulent and choppy – a real white-water rafting experience.

We “rafted” about 7-8 kms. At the other end, jeeps were waiting for us to haul us back to the camp. I enjoyed the jeep ride too, the “cool wind rushing through my hair”:)

After Rafting

Lunch and Back

We were back at the camp by 1 pm; lunch was served late by around 2 pm…ideally it should have ready by the time we got back to camp. Another aberration! Lunch over, we wound up our stuff and started back.  The drive back was equally good; a cool breeze blowing amidst some nice sunshine. We hit Bangalore by around 4:45, and were home by 5 pm.

My final two cents….

Bheemeshwari is a very nice get away from Bangalore; the drive is awesome and the roads are pretty decent; the rafting is a nice experience; the guides are very nice guys; its not dangerous at all (i had this doubt); though the adrenalin seekers might be a little disappointed…all in all a Sunday spent very well!