Kashmir Tops Popularity List For White Water River-Rafting !

White water river-rafting is famous in India and has seen the likes of Brad Pitt drop in secretly at Rishikesh, have that adrenalin rush and leave.. as quietly as he came!

But besides the Ganges, Kashmir’s valley is the next best destination if you love the waters sparkling with danger and a rush for adventure! Kashmir is known the world over for its enchanting picturesque lakes, streams and rivers. River water rafting is a relatively recent introduction in the Kashmir valley.



In Kashmirs Pahalgam region, in particular, white water river rafting has gained immense popularity. Located in the south-east of Kashmir, Pahalgam is surrounded by lofty mountain ranges and is washed by gushing streams and rivulets which provide abundant opportunities for adventure sports like river water rafting.

The aquatic adventure sport is attracting a lot of domestic as well as international tourists. And, this is a good news for the local residents related to tourism sector.
In fact, the white water river rafting destinations in India are comparable to the best in the world and among these the ones in Kashmir render utmost thrills to the participants.
Adventure-loving tourists visiting Kashmir include Pahalgam as their prime destination to enjoy thrills of white water rafting here.

Earlier, Pahalgam used to have only 10-13 boats sailing along the ice-cold white waters of Lidder Nallah (stream). But now their number has touched 40-45 to cater to the needs of the ever growing enthusiasts of this adventure sport here. The growing charm among tourists has proved a boon for local residents here.
“The tourists response is very good. Out of the total tourists coming to Pahalgam, 90 per cent are doing rafting. We know about it because we are into this business. Even the locals are into rafting and it’’s getting very popular.” said Mohammed Ibrahim Raina, owner of a rafting boat.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government after watching the potential of this sport is keen to capitalise on river rafting as an employment generation medium in the region.
“It is our effort to promote white river rafting because we have streams and beautiful rivers here which are perfect for it. There is a lot of potential and opportunity for white water rafting so we want to fully exploit it and create this facility for the tourists. The effort is to promote white river rafting to benefit local residents because the government is not interested in running this rafting programme and we are only overseeing this. We are laying down the terms and conditions for conducting this programme and only want the locals to benefit from this,” said Sarmad Hafeez, Joint Director for Tourism in Kashmir.

Lets hope the government takes keen interest in developing all kinds of water sports as India is truly emerging as a hotspot for sailing and yachting for water-babies all over the world. Read more...

Home To India’s First National Sailing Club: Bhopal, The City Of Lakes!

Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is a fascinating amalgam of scenic beauty, old historic culture and modern urban planning.

Famous for its lakes, in-fact christened as "Lake City", it has a number of lakes but is basically famous for its lower lake and upper lake. The two lakes of Bhopal still dominate the city, and are indeed its nucleus.


Bordered along their shores stand silent sentinels that testify to the growth of the city. Bhopal today presents a multi-faceted profile; the old city with its marketplaces and fine old mosques and palaces still bears the aristocratic imprint of its former rulers, among them the succession of powerful Begums who ruled Bhopal from 1819 to 1926.

Equally impressive is the new city with its verdant, exquisitely laid out parks and gardens, broad avenues and streamlined modern edifices. It is greener and cleaner than most cities in the country.

Having so many lakes, Bhopal naturally posses one of the best boating facilities in the country, Boat Clubs at both lower and upper lake are the centre of attraction and one can easily take a pleasure ride in cool cozy environs. In the vicinity of the Upper Lake, is the boat club run by MP Tourism with a large fleet of boats –Cruise Boats, rowboats, pedal boats, sailboats and motorboats. So take your pick and spend a while boating on the placid waters of the lake.

Bhopal is also coming up as a center of adventure sports. Trekking camps are being organized by Youth Hostels and other private. The government has also established India's first National Sailing Club at the Boat Club, in the Upper Lake. This club offers various water sports such as kayaking, canoeing, rafting, water skiing, parasailing etc. Since its inception, it has hosted Canoeing and Kayaking Championships at national as well as international levels. Other adventure sports include parasailing, paragliding, hot air ballooning etc.

June, July and August are the best months to visit Bhopal. With the monsoons setting in, the light drizzles and the greenery make for a perfect scenic journey.

If you are exploring boating destinations within the country, make sure you hit bullseye Bhopal! Read more...

Sail Away To Elephanta: The Epitome of Hindu Cave Culture

The Elephanta Caves are a great tourist attraction in the vicinity of the large Mumbai meteropolis. The Elephanta island is located 10 km away from the Gateway of India at Mumbai. These caves house rock cut temples dating back to the 5th century CE.

The Elephanta island was so named by the Portuguese, after the statue of an elephant near the landing area of the island. These rock cut temples dedicated to Shiva Mahadeva are rich in sculptural content. Motorboats take passengers from Appollo Bunder near the Gateway of India.

An epitome of Hindu cave culture, Elephanta consists of seven caves of which the most notable is the Mahesa-murti cave. These rock cut temples were created by carving out rock, and creating the columns, the internal spaces and the images. The entire temple is akin to a huge sculpture, through whose corridors and chambers one can walk. The entire complex was created through a process of rock removal. Some of the rock surfaces are highly finished while some are untreated bare rock.
The entire cave temple complex covers an area of about 60000 squrare feet and it consists a main chamber and two lateral ones , courtyards and several subsidary shrines. Above the temple is the mass of natural rock.
There are three entrances to this temple. The ones on the east and the west marking the axis of the temple. A 20 pillared hall lines the axis, and on its western end is the cellar in which is enshrined a Shivalingam. The pillars consist of fluted columns standing on square bases, and are crowned with fluted cushion capitals.

The enigmatic image of Trimurthi Sadasiva: The Sadasiva manifestation of Shiva is carved in relief at the end of the north south axis. This collossal 20 feet high image of the three headed Shiva, Trimurthy is a magnificient one, considered to be a masterpiece of Indian art. This colossal image represents Panchamukha Shiva, only three faces of whom are carved into the wall and it demands immediate attention upon entering the temple through the northern entrance.

Best time to visit Elepanta :
November to March is the ideal time to visit the island.

Access:
Located on a small island of Mumbai in Maharashtra, Elephanta can be reached by regular ferries that leave from Mumbai's Gateway of India harbour throughout the year, except during the monsoon season.

Read more...

DUCK BOAT - Crusing on Land & Sea!

One can drive a Duck Boat on land like an normal vehicle and cruises it in water as a boat. Yes thats right, Duck Boats are a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck which were used during World War II & now they are put at good use & widely used to promote tourism..

During the early days of World War ll, the allies were faced with a tough tactical problem: how could they unload cargo and men from their ships in places where the dock facilities had been destroyed or simply did not exist? The answer was to unload cargo directly over the beach.


The demands of war, along with technical know-how and old fashioned Yankee ingenuity combined to create the perfect solution: a vehicle that was half boat and half truck that could run on land and water. Code-named DUKW, the first "DUCK" was actually a GMC truck enclosed in a water-tight shell. These amphibious vehicles played an important role in both the European and Pacific theaters of the war.


The DUKW was the first vehicle to allow the driver to vary the tire pressure from inside the cab, an accomplishment of Speir's device. The tires could be fully inflated for hard surfaces such as roads and less inflated for softer surfaces—especially beach sand. This added to the DUKW's great versatility as an amphibious vehicle. This feature is now standard on many military vehicles.


DUKWs are still in use, as well as purpose-built amphibious tour buses, primarily as tourist transport in harbor and river cities, including but not limited to: Seattle, Philadelphia, Chattanooga, Boston, Branson, Missouri, London, Liverpool, Dublin, Ireland, Rotorua, New Zealand, The Netherlands and Singapore. One well-established tour operator in the United States is Ride the Ducks.. Read more...