ADVENTURE TOURISM

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THE PASSION OF THE SEA
White Water Rafting || Scuba Diving

India had a vast 3000 kilometers coastline, with two very pretty and distinctive island territories. The coastal areas are green and the mood festive. The beaches are spectacular and the surf inviting. Swimming and diving, snorkelling or deep sea fishing, all these are exotic and exciting experiences.

The pristine islands of Andamans and Lakshdweep shimmer like emeralds in the sea, with umpteen opportunities for water sports and adventure, apart from the opportunity they afford for lazy sun bathing on the beaches as well as wind surfing and skin diving.

There is no doubt that India is the adventure tourism destination of the world, providing both variety and fun at prices that are most competitive. The facilities are comparable to the best in the world and diversity bewildering. While its mountains provide heli skiing, river running, trekking and mountaineering and its beaches provide excitement and fun of a different kind, the jungles provide ample opportunities for shooting wild life- with a camera.

If you have not had adventure in India,then you do not know what adventure is all about. India is fast emrging as an Asian adventure sports destination with immense scope in white water rafting, kayaking, scuba diving & other sports.

LAKSHADWEEP, Lakshadweep archipelago is fromed by many islands. Most of them uninhabited & only 10 inhabited ones. A tourist interested in water sports can get up early in morning, adjust his mask & snorkel tube and dive into the 3 meters deep water of the lagoon, close to the breakers on the corel reef. There are many thrills that these coral island provide.

Its not just the island and coastal areas that provide such opportunities for water sports; rapids on the slopes of mountains and large lakes provide thrills aplenty too.

More and more people on the lookout for adventure and thrill are being attracted to India; most of them either to the large 3000 km coast line or to the Himalayan slopes.

There is no doubt that part of the attraction of these areas is the salubrious climate and the stunning scenery; but, more than anything else, what attracts adventurous people is the opportunity that these areas provide for exhilarating and thrilling water sports. There is adventure, no doubt, in climbing mountains or skiing down icy mountain slopes but the fun that is to be had from such sports, be it white water rafting or scuba diving, has no compare.

While the hills provide bodies of icy cool fresh water as it rushes through rapids and down falls, coastal areas harbour massive bodies of saline water. Both of them provide ample opportunities for a host of adventurous and thrilling sports. In focus in the hills, all through summer, is the most exciting sports of river running, which includes such exotic thrill games like rafting, paddling, sailing and water skiing. In the waters of the sea, wind surfing, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing, yachting, scuba diving and a host of other sports offer excitement that has few parallels.

Remember, none of these thrills are for the faint hearted and the weak: in all of them there is always desire compounded by danger. Because of the dangers and in view of the astonishing scenery around, even a simple activity like a motor boat ride can prove to be thrilling. The thrill can be compounded many times over, if instead of sitting on the boat you could ski behind it.

Water sports there are aplenty, but the top ones are white water rafting and scuba diving.

WHITE WATER RAFTING

These spells of swift, intense encounters with foaming, roaring waters are punctuated by many more longer periods of gentle floating, with opportunities to observe natural wonders along the continuously varying canvas of the river banks. Any normal healthy person who does not fear water can raft. In India only the rapids in the Ganga can go upto grade IV, only the next grade V being for seasoned professionals, with most of the other areas being II and III grade.

Rivers have for ages been the arteries of communication and culture; only now they are being used for recreation and adventure. The Ganges, the Indus and its tributiaries, Beas, the Zanskar and the Teesta are some of the rivers of adventure in India, each one providing an unique and exciting experience.

The ride along the Himalayan rivers is simply exhilarating. Paddling through the rapids and battling with the wild white waters as the beauty of the jungle rushes at you from both sides and the crystal clear water river bed smiles from below - this is the magic of river running.

Hiring of equipment, including crash helmets, can easily be arranged at very reasonable rates. The equipment provided conforms to the highest safety standards followed anywhere. The period for rafting is from April to September.

To experience this adrenaline pumping and action-packed activity, one can get proficiency in just a few hours of training, facilities for which exist in different parts of the country. There is also provision for expert guidance on boards as well as logistics and rescue facilities. Many tourist agencies and state departments conduct courses in river-rafting. Apart from rafting, the thrills of kayaking and canoeing can also be experienced in these rivers.

SCUBA DIVING

Stretching many thousand kilometers, the Indian coastline spans the mighty water of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Dotted with the finest beaches, cliff promontories, mangroves, backwater, jewel-like island groups and marine life, there are wide diving possibilities. While there are many popular easily accessible sites, many more can be explored which are not at all known. Amongst these is Lakshadweep.

The first view of Lakshadweep island is unforgettable. The shimmering emerald water of the lagoon washing the glistening white sands of the long, slender boat-shaped island, tall coconut palms swaying to the tune of the gentle breeze, powerful, swelling breakers foaming into a sparkling diamond-like garland around the coral reef, and big flecks of cloud hanging low on the clear azure sky reflecting the ever changing colours of the waters of the lagoon; that's paradise if there is one.

The sight of the smashing waves creating foaming breakers on the coral reef, which enclose on the coral reef, which enclose azure lagoons whose crystal clear waters wash the fine grained white sands of the palm dotted low islands, is one of the few marvels of god's creations left untouched by the encroaching hands of industrialisation and progress.

Wind surfing, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing, yachting, scuba diving and a host of other sports offer excitement that has few parallels. Remember, none of these thrills are for the faint hearted and the weak.

Anybody canoeing, kayaking or surfing in the lagoon must not only be fully aware of the dangers that such protruding coral rocks present but should also be able to avoid them. It needs a trained eye to spot out these clusters because often they merely appear as mere dark patches on the emarald water;and such patches are often created by the small flecks of cloud that almost always dot the sky.

Because of the dangers and in view of the astonishing scenery around, even a simple activity like a motor boat ride can prove to be thrilling. The thrill can be compounded many times over, if instead of sitting on the boat you could ski behind it. The diesel fumes from the boat's engine are no doubt a nuisance but with some careful meandering these could be avoided.

All dive in the shallow lagoon is great fun provided you have a glass mask and a snorkel tube. While the latter provides a vent for breathing, the glass case is for enabling you to see clearly through the water, which is crystal clear.

You will be greeted by a wonderful sight. The underwater city is an unique and diverse collection of colourful and weirdly-patterned sea animals. Corals take pride of place in these reef cities. Rich in variety and colour, the thousands of types of corals range from tall sea-fans to small hydroids, from languidly-waving sea anemones to glassy jellyfish.

Danger there is, but only enough to add to the sense of adventure and thrill. This fun is multiplied many times over as you don the scuba gear. This gear has been especially devised for the deep sea diver and gives an opportunity for thrill and adventure unparalleled and unimagined by ones who think of the sea as nothing but a large salt water lake.

In many places in India, including Lakshadweep and Andamas, equipment for scuba diving is available and that also at reasonable prices. In the Kadmat island of Lakshadweep, there is an institute for training in deep sea diving, where not only instruction can be had but all the necessary equipment can also be hired.

India is fast becoming the adventure tourism destination of the world; time of not far off when it will be the water sports centre as well.

TrekkingMountaineeringRock ClimbingSafarisAerosport
MotorsportWatersport