Buckle Up - Best Adventure Sport Places in India

Most of us go through life never knowing what it's truly worth. Then some of us wake up, strap-up, and put it in danger. We decide to live it where its best lived - on the edge. For that’s where we can realize its true worth. We can all choose our "edges" though, like the edge of that cliff you leave trusting just an elastic chord to pull you back up, the edge of that scary river bank that you leave putting your life in care of a rickety raft, or the edge of the airplane you plummet from, for liberating freefall.

Life is precious, and I love living it on the edge. So I buckle up well, pray to god that there’s no equipment failure, and that everything stays as it is…and if it doesn’t, I know that I decided to live that way.

Paragliding

We all arrived at the foot hills of Billing to a small little village called Bir. Billing was supposed to be our drop zone for a tandem flight. It has the reputation for holding international level paragliding championships. After a short stop negotiating the price of our flights (Rs. 1800 for a half-hour flight), we drove off to Billing. To tell you the truth, I am afraid of heights. Let alone the jump, the ascent to the top of Billing was enough to send shivers down my spine.

Once on the top, my flight-mate TT did not waste a single minute strapping us up with a chute. As he waited for that gush of air to fill up the chute, I tried hard to reason with my mind and to let go of fears and inhibitions about that jump I was going to take. But I did not have much time as that gush of air caught the canopy. TT pulled the lines in front of him and we both squatted and ran to the edge of the cliff. Before I knew it, I saw the ground disappear beneath my feet, and I screamed at the top of my voice. We we’re in the air, and in 3 minutes, were eye-to-eye with the top most peaks of the Dhauladhar Range. As I took out my camera to record a video, TT started showing me the surroundings, like the villages of Palampur, Dharamshala, and the fact that it would take him just 2 hours to get both of us to land in Dharamshala. We weren’t dressed to fly over the Dhauladhar, or I would have paid him to do just that.

While paragliding, don’t forget to ask your instructor for GRAVITY. If you don’t do Gravity, you haven’t really done it. It's the most amazing thing!

Mountaineering

Climbing mountains is a great lesson in life, the one that teaches you to pullback up every time you slide down, and the one that tell you to keep going, for the downward journey is one long killing fall. Back in the day, my friends and I used to take small expeditions to the mountains in Ladakh and Kashmir - pure adrenaline. Climbing, especially on ice, was scary, as we could never get our kicks in the ice right. We often got stuck for more than an hour on the rocks, but it was amazing. And yes, it's thrilling to the hilt.

We’ve never been ever been out of the country for a climb. But we also know one thing. There’s no better place for mountaineering than the Himalayas; except the Grand Canyon maybe. But before you can experience the Himalayas, you'll need to get certified, which means going through a month-long military-like training schedule. These are offered by certain certified schools like the HMI in Darjeeling and the IMF in Manali. There are certain low lying peaks that anyone can climb. For the higher ones though, certification is necessary. It's needed for the simple reason that ice-climbing, and things like altitude sickness, avalanches, sudden changes in weather, and more than anything, how to survive for days on snow, are things one needs practice to learn. And practice well when you're in training for your practice will play a crucial role in life and death, that is, on which side you might finally end up.

It might take a month or two before you get ready to do it, but let me tell you that once you are ready, you'll never look back to spending your free time in any other way.

Skydiving

Freestyle jump, anyone! Skydive, but at your own risk. I personally think that it is the best way to live life on the edge. When I flew, I knew that if my chutes fail to deploy, I’ll hit mother earth’s lap at 9.8 meters per second. That’s the speed even she can't cushion you at. Every flight you take, depending upon objective and subjective circumstances, might be your last one. I have evidence. Log on to YouTube and watch the Rob Harris Mountain Dew Tele-commercial - the one he didn’t survive. But tandem flights in India are now available in Gujarat. SAG, The Sports Authority of Gujarat, is busy developing a perfect plan to help commoners like us enjoy the sport. With a little bit of practice you'll be ready to take your first independent flight within a matter of weeks. Cost: Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per flight (depending upon the size of your group). And yes, do ask your instructor to take you for a nosedive. Do everything you can! For if the chutes don’t open in the end, you at least, won't have anything left to regret about.

White Water Rafting

Everyone can go rafting in India. It’s fast becoming a people’s adventure sport. And you can enjoy all the fun of rafting in the foothills of the Himalayas in Rishikesh, and Shivpuri. Perfect for beginners, the stretch just above Rishikesh town is the best to leave the banks of River Ganga for an adrenaline gushing showdown with that white-watery rush. Why we call it the people’s adventure sport? For in Rishikesh, there are no rapids rated above class 3. The stretch is simple but very exciting, and will require a medium level of maneuvering. The best time to try rafting in Rishikesh is between April and July, for the water is clean and the river is flowing at a safe level. Any later, and the same river gets muddy and all the rapids become class 5ers immediately.

I sat at the left edge of the raft at position number 3 and I can tell you that my foot left the strap on more than one occasion. Our trip was rather uneventful a none of us tripped over into the water, except for that one time when the raft lost control and we were about to hit the rock on the sides.

For enjoying bigger rapids, like "the Wall", you'll need to start your trip from Kaudilaya, another 45 kms upward from Rishikesh.

Zorbing

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Zorbing is the least extreme of all adventure sports. It can't get you hurt, but it does have what it takes to scare the life out of you. My friends and I tried this in the hills of Manali. There were two versions, the one in which you are harnessed alone, and the one in which you are harnessed face to face with a friend. The latter was our favourite. It saved us cash and it doubled the fun as we screaming together while rolling downhill. The Zorbing track in Manali is short and the excitement is a too short-lived. I guess we’ll have to wait until better options come up. The cost is Rs 500 per person and is well worth it.