River Rafting in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a destination where many sports like trekking, skiing, gliding together with rafting can be enjoyed. Himachal Pradesh has several snow fed rivers that offers immense scope for the very challenging sports of Rafting. Not only rafting but several other water sports like skiing and kayaking can also be well practised in Himachal Pradesh. The tough and difficult routes of the Himachal rivers would add excitement to your mind, body and soul. The picturesque sights that you would be able to catch during your rafting activity would also turn out to be very fascinating.

Rafting In Himachal
The main commercial rafting river in the state is the Beas, which begins near Manali and flows through Kullu before reaching the Pandoh Dam. The Beas river provides Grade IV and V rapids.

Apart from the river Beas near Kullu, there are certain other rivers like Ravi near Chamba, Chenab or Chandrabhaga in Lahore and Satluj near Shimla that offers a chance of river rafting to all the rafters. But the major popularity is taken over by Beas River. One can raft on the rapids of Beas, specially between Shamsi and Aut. This is around a 20 km stretch that provides a thrilling rafting experience. Many rafting competition also is conducted in the state. The best stretches to raft the Beas lie between Manali and Pandoh Dam. The view from the river around Pandoh Dam is breath taking, as the river exits a massive gorge at this point.
The Rafting Season
As far as the favourable season for rafting is concerned – summers, spring and autumn are the best time to go out on a rafting. During winters the sports is stopped for a while.

Rafting Essentials
Equipments required for river rafting are many and are made available by HTPDC, Himachal Tourism Development Corporation. The equipments include :

• Dinghy (inflatable rubber life raft)
• Life jackets
• Helmets

Apart from these an expert guide is also provided for the convenience of the rafters. There are certain things that you as a tourist should carry like – sunscreen lotion, sunglasses, shorts, T-shirts, suitable shoes, a wind proof jacket, a light sweater, towels, a flash light and the most important camera and the first aid box. If you are taking some medicine on a regular basis it is also advisable to carry them along.